Discovering Our Ties
by You're-To-Slow-RJC
Summary: Riley Winchester is nothing like his brothers. He isn't as strong. He isn't as fast. However, whether he likes it or not he is part of the family. John Winchester has gone missing and it is up to Dean, Sam, and Riley to find him. The journey to finding him however will take Riley on a path of self discovery that he might never have wanted to take in the first place.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N so this is my first story, so work with me. This will be a supernatural AU involving another brother. Basically it is going to be supernatural the novel series with my character's thoughts and point of view in the mix. I don't plan on putting brotherly fluff moments in this story. I have brothers myself, and while we do love each other, they can be uncaring assholes. I want my story to seem natural. I'm sure this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but who knows. Someone might like it. I plan on it following along the main series coupling with my character's story arc. Like I said, first story… Be nice and work with me. I'm well aware this is a vague shitty A/N, but I'm trying! Regardless, I own nothing from supernatural, all rights go to them and their creators. If anyone notices any grammatical errors make sure to let me know. Like I said, this will be basically be an embellished novelization of Supernatural. That being said, if things don't follow along in the series dialog-wise, don't get mad. It is a fanfiction after all. Hope someone enjoys!**

* * *

Three weeks and two days. It had been three weeks and two days since my brother and I had last seen our father. Granted, in our family, disappearing for any stretch of time wasn't exactly atypical. Hell, our other brother Sam, has been out of reach for the past two years… Well, at least to some degree. Sam wanted out of the family business, so he fought to get out once he hit age eighteen. Sam had a mind of his own, and he wanted to use it, rather than simply follow our father's orders. The amount of courage he had to find within himself to take the steps to leave is honorable. I was absolutely furious when Sam left us. However, I believe he deserves to be able to step forward and work towards whatever goal he has set forth, even if that means I don't get to see him anymore. Regardless, our father, unlike Sam, always comes back… And this time he didn't. Dean and I had run out of options. Every trail we seemed to follow came to a dead end. John Winchester… Dad… Was a lot of things, a father… A retired marine… A widower… An alcoholic… An ass. Still, he wasn't a deserter. He would never just abandon us after all that we have been through together. Dean and I eventually came to the conclusion that our John mystery would require one more pair of hands to solve… Sam Winchester.

The journey to Stanford University was probably one of the longest drives I have ever had to make. Not that is was particularly different from the hundreds of other drives in the Impala. This drive was filled to the brim with angst. Not even Dean's light hearted jokes and prods could make me feel like my heart wasn't about to burst from my chest. In several hours, I would be face to face with my brother again, after these long two years. Sam and I had always gotten along better, compared to Dean and I… or even our Dad. He was the only sensible one around, and then he left. It would be exquisite to have a deeper conversation with someone again, one that didn't involve hunting, weapons, or Deans feeble attempt of talking to me about racy women. I couldn't help but grin at the thought of seeing Sammy again. A smack to the back of the head brought me out of my thoughts.

"Damn it Riley, I've been trying to talking to your ass for the past it five minutes! Quit daydreaming and get with it!", Dean gnarled with a mouth full of food. It was pretty hard to take him seriously with the strip of lettuce hanging from the corner of his mouth and the half eaten cheeseburger in his hand… Neanderthal. In truth, I probably should have been listening to the plan on approaching Sam when we arrive at Stanford, but I get distracted easily… Sue me. With a sigh, I replied to the bits and pieces I had made out of his plan.

"Your plan is bullshit.", I stated. "The last thing we need to do is to show up at his house and demand that he hops in the car and hightails it with us to find Dad. He has his own life that he has built, without our supernatural dilemma. If there is going to be any possibility of him coming with us, you'd have best let me talk to him. _You_ will probably just piss him off." I felt I was possibly too blunt, but if Dean doesn't hear it… he doesn't realize it. AC/DC lightly resonated throughout the Impala while I watched the gears turn in Dean's head. I continued to strike while the iron was hot.

"Let's get to Stanford, I'll give him a call and we can go from there.", I finished. I may not be as strong as Dean, but I certainly have more tact when speaking to people. Although I am uncomparable when it comes to Sam. Sam can just smile at people and they instantly want to conquer the world for him. I gave Dean a minute to mull over my proposal… He took a fourth of it and responded.

"How about we stick with the plan of 'I'm your big brother and you'll do as I say.'", he sneered. "I'm driving, and the driver calls the shots.", he finished, drumming his hands on the steering wheel. I rolled my eyes, turning to peer out at the green blur of passing landscape. This was going to be a shit show, I could already tell. Dean could sound condescending at times, but I know it's only because he gives a damn for his family. Plus, being snarky shithead was a huge portion of his personality… Lovable oaf.

Resting my head back on the leather seats of the Impala, my mind drifted back to reuniting with Sam. Would he be happy to see us? What are we going to do if he rejects our proposal? Rubbing my temples, I quickly shook the stray thought out of my head. I have to trust my brother… He will pull through for Dean and I. Rechecking the G.P.S. for the hundredth time, I internally groaned. Only six more hours until we see our brother again, and Dean won't be leaving him behind without confrontation.

October 31st, 2005 - Palo Alto, CA

We had been standing outside of Sam's apartment for the past twenty minutes squabbling about our next move.

"Damn it, Dean.", I hissed. Pushing a finger into Dean's chest, I proceeded in tearing his ass a new one. "I _agreed_ to let you do the talking. I _agreed_ to show up at his house, rather than calling in advance. I sure as hell did _not_ agree to break into his house!" I could feel the heat coming to my face, this is a typical Dean stunt. Dean remained unperturbed, snarling at me he continued to walk towards the edge of Sam's apartment complex. exasperated, I trailed behind Dean. I am so damn tired of having to be the appointed guardian of this twenty-six year old man. Arriving at the edge of the building, Dean leaped up and grabbed the bottom bars of the fire escape. Swinging his legs, he used his momentum to pull himself up onto the iron platform. Oh hell, I guess it's my turn. Dean is a good size bigger than me, so following him should be no problem… That being said, Dean also has more muscle than I do. It's pretty hard for me to really gain any weight… I guess my metabolism is skyhigh or something along those lines. Prepping myself, I bent my knees and made a not-so-graceful jump towards the iron bars secured to the brick wall. I momentary found my grip on the bottom of the fire escape, only to find the momentum of my legs swinging forward too great. In a nutshell, I fell back towards the dew soaked grass and landed flat on my ass.

"Son of a bitch…", I said through gritted teeth. I could only hope that dean had moved on towards the window, to start picking the lock. Luck was not in my favor tonight.

"Do you need a boost, kid?", Dean said, sarcasm dripping from his question. Returning his question with a single finger, I rose to my feet, and poised myself to try again. Fortunately, this go was met with success. Climbing into the fire escape, I pushed past Dean and continued to Sam's window. Quickly picking the lock, I motioned for Dean to enter the home first. If we are going to be trespassing, I will be damned if Sam tries to take a swing at me.

Climbing in behind Dean, I focused on my surroundings. We must be in a guest bedroom, it was a plain room, containing only a made bed, a dresser, and vanity. Moving forward I managed to knock my hip into the damn vanity, causing a loud noise to resonate through the house… Fuck me. Dean abruptly turned towards me and looked at me like I was crazy. We held that eye contact for a good thirty seconds, listening for any kind of stir in the house… Nothing. Continuing forward, we ventured further into the house. The silence was deafening. The house was very neat and taken care of. Inching forward, I noticed lines of beads hanging from one of the doors entering into the hallway. What is this, the seventies? Despite my own stealth, Dean was waltzing about the house as if he owned it. Shocker. Pushing open a glass door, Dean casually stepped into the next room. In a flash, a man lunged toward Dean and grabbed his shoulder. It happened so fast, I couldn't believe my eyes. Dean quickly knocked his assailants arm away and aimed a swing at him. It was dark and hard to make out, but the scuffle eventually led into the next room. After several seconds of movement, a smack, and a groan, the fight finally ended in a large crash. Creeping into the room, Dean was poised over our brother, with one hand on his neck and the other pinning his arm. Damn it, Dean, I thought glumly.

"Whoa, easy, tiger.", Dean laughed. He was trying to play it off, but I could hear the exhaust in his voice.

"Dean?", Sam questioned, squinting his eyes to get a better look at him. "You scared the crap out of me!" Sam sounded worse off than Dean. I could hear him gasping for air from where I was standing.

"That's 'cause you're out of practice.", Dean answered with a laugh. However, he spoke too soon, because Sam quickly maneuvered Dean onto the ground and had him pinned down. Looks like old habits die hard. "Or not… Get off me." Sam rolled off Dean on to his feet and pulled Dean up to a standing position. At this point the excitement bubbling up inside me came to a head. Stepping through the door, I quickly grabbed Sam in a hug. I could feel him stiffen in my arms, but I didn't care.

"Sam!", I grinned. "I've missed you!" I really needed to stop talking, I was smiling like an idiot. It had been a long time since I had seen him. His hair had grown out, and he was definitely a couple inches taller. Looking down at me he pat me on the back and spoke.

"Riley… What the hell are you two doing here?", Sam asked. Feeling dejected, I let go of him and stepped back beside Dean. Maybe he isn't happy to see us? Tapping Sam's shoulders Dean spoke.

"Well, I was looking for a beer.", he teased. Sam didn't look amused.

"What the hell are you two doing here?", Sam repeated sternly. I _knew_ breaking in wasn't the way to go… The look of discomfort on Sam's face proved that he felt less than gleeful about seeing his own brothers again. I spoke again, trying to steer the conversation towards the point.

"We need to talk.", I said. "Preferably, sooner than later." I stared hard into Sam's eyes. He needed to understand why we were here, and why it was our last ditch effort.

"Uh, the phone?", Sam responded. Again, I knew this was a mistake. He doesn't want us in his life anymore.

"If we'd have called, would you have picked up?", Dean challenged. Before Sam could answer, the lights suddenly flickered on. This caused us to turn in unison to the new person entering the room. It was a very beautiful girl. She had long blonde hair with curls. She was wearing a cropped shirt featuring a smurf and smurfette. Is she Sam's girlfriend? Hell, they live together so I assume so. She seemed pretty confused about the two strange man standing in her apartment… Can't exactly say that I blame her. After a few awkward seconds of silence, Sam spoke.

"Jess. Hey. Dean, Riley, this is my girlfriend, Jessica.", he stated. Bingo. I was right. Glancing over, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Dean was staring at her like a druggie stares at dilaudid. I had to resist the urge to slap the back of his head.

Wait, your brothers, Dean and Riley?", Jessica asked with a smile. I have to hand it to my brother, he managed to catch him a very pretty girlfriend. Before Sam could respond, Dean stepped closer to Jessica and began to talk… Much more than he needed to.

"Oh, I love the smurfs. You know, I gotta tell you. You are completely out of my brother's league.", Dean said. I couldn't help but roll my eyes again. I can only see the back of his head, but I'm sure he was eyeballing her like a piece of meat. She must have noticed it too.

"Just let me put something on…", she began, however, Dean quickly interrupted her. Walking back over to Sam, he didn't take an eye off of her.

No, no, no, I wouldn't dream of it. Seriously.", he said. "Anyway, I gotta borrow your boyfriend here, talk about some private family business. But, uh, nice meeting you." He finished with a wink.

"No.", Sam stated, walking over to Jessica and throwing an arm around her. "No, whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of her." Now he is just being difficult. I can't help but start to get slightly annoyed.

"Okay. Um. Dad hasn't been home in a few days.", Dean began. Sam seemed less interested when the subject was brought to Dad.

"So he's working overtime on a Miller Time shift. He'll stumble back in sooner or later.", Sam said, sounding annoyed. Sam was completely missing the point we were trying to make.

"Sam, Dad's on a hunting trip. And he hasn't been home in a few days.", I said. I did my best to hint what we were getting at, while not completely blowing our secret in the midst of company. Sam gave me a blank expression. He took a few moments to respond.

"Jess, excuse us. We have to go outside." Finally he got the fucking point.

* * *

Heading downstairs Sam naturally started bitching. The two years of not seeing him and missing him were starting to lose its luster.

"I mean, come on. You can't just break in, middle of the night, and expect me to hit the road with you.", Sam begins. Sam's complaints fall on deaf ears, because Dean continued to try to convince him.

"You're not hearing me, Sammy. Dad's missing. we need you to help us find him.", Dean responded. It was clear in his voice that he was getting frustrated.

"You remember the poltergeist in Amherst? Or the Devil's Gates in Clifton? He was missing then, too. He's always missing, and he's always fine.", Sam finished. At this point, I was beginning to get lose my patience as well. I had been leading the group down the stairs. I abruptly stopped and spun around to look Sam in the eyes. They both halted in the stairs along with me. Sam was stubborn as hell, Dean wasn't going to be able to convince him without help.

"I know you aren't happy to see us again Sam.", I tried not to sound as butt hurt as I felt. "But do you seriously think we would come all this way to find you if we didn't need you? Sam. We need your help. Are you going to come or not?"

"I'm not.", he replied, bluntly.

"Why?", I questioned. He sure as hell wasn't going to be let off the hook. At least not without a fight.

"I swore I was done hunting. For _good_.", Sam said, putting emphasis on 'good'. I turned and continued walking down stairs. It's Deans turn to argue with him again.

"Come on. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't _that_ bad.", Dean defended, following behind me. The two kept bantering back and forth, so I just ignored their shit. Giving Sam the benefit of the doubt, it was indeed _that_ bad at times. The only thing that got our family through everything, was the fact that we had each other. Although I do admit some degree of jealousy towards Sam and Dean. They used to argue a lot before Sam left. But they always seemed to be closer and have a better relationship together, compared to mine with them. I have always felt like a sort of an outcast to the family, like I was on the outside looking in. And not the same kind of outcast Sam considered himself. Dad, Sam, and Dean were all muscular and gruff. Me? Not so much. I was a little shorter than Dean, I had some tone, but nothing impressive. Our facial structures were different, and my hair was jet black, compared to their brown hair, matching our fathers. But maybe that is just me being self-conscious. By the time I had snapped out of my thoughts, I was face to face with the door to the parking lot, and Dean was lecturing Sam about being scared of the dark.

"Don't be afraid of the dark? Are you kidding me? Of course you should be afraid of the dark. You know what's out there.", Dean argued. He had a point… I have seen so many monsters and ghosts over the years. It's unbelievable.

"Yeah, I know. But still. The way we grew up, after Mom was killed, and Dad's obsession to find the thing that killed her.", Sam's voice trailed off. It was obvious in both of their facial features, that the subject of our Mother was a sensitive one. I felt nothing. No attachment. No desperation. No guilt. Maybe because of how young I was? Sam continued. "But we still haven't found the damn thing. So we kill everything we _can_ find."

"We save a lot of people doing it, too." Dean replied. Which was a very true statement. We have managed to save many lives, as well as open doors into fears beyond their comprehension.

"You think Mom would have wanted this for us?", Sam said. Having enough, I opened the door to proceed with our trek to the Impala. Crossing the parking lot, Sam maintained his focus on the danger of our job and what it had done to our family. "The weapon training, and melting the silver into bullets? Man, Dean, we were raised like warriors."

"So what are you gonna do? You're just gonna live some normal, apple pie life? Is that it?", Dean questioned. Clearly that was Sam's intent.

"No. Not normal. Safe.", Sam clarified.

"So that's why you ran away.", I stated, rather than asked. "Here I thought you were just going off to college to create a new life for yourself." Once again, I sounded pretty pissy.

"I _was_ just going to college. It was Dad who said if I was gonna go I should stay gone. And that's what I'm doing.", Sam responded. Excuses, excuses. Now I had a better understanding. He didn't want a new life. He wanted to escape the danger of his old life… And Dad. Dean spoke up again.

"Yeah, well, Dad's in real trouble right now. If he's not dead already, I can feel it.", he said. At this point we had arrived at the Impala. I made my way to the back and popped the trunk. It was full of random clothes, and other things we need for our journey. Little known fact that under all of the normal road trip items was hid an arsenal fit to take out the supernatural. "I can't do this alone.", Dean stated. This statement made me swirl my head to his direction. I ignored the twinge of pain in my chest. Since when has he been 'alone'? I have been there for him my entire life. Once again, this was turning into the Sam and Dean show, and I was just standing on the outside looking in. I don't understand…

"Yes you can.", Sam said slowly.

"Yeah, well, I don't want to.", Dean said softly. He has never been alone… Sam sighed, then finally spoke.

"What was he hunting?", he said. Having enough of the conversation, I opened the spare-tire compartment and dug through the clutter. I could hear Sam and Dean continue their conversation while I rummaged through the arsenal. Honestly I wasn't interested anymore. I looked through the mess for the file folder containing the information of the last big hunt Dad had been on. Finding the folder, I organized its contents and walked back towards my brothers. Shoving the folder into Sam's chest, I gave him the back story.

"So Dad was checking out this two-lane blacktop just outside of Jericho, California.", I explained. Pointing to a picture of a young man in the folder. He was the subject of a missing person report in an article titled _Jericho Herald._ I further explained. "About a month ago, this guy, Andrew Carey, went missing. They found his car, but he vanished."

"So maybe he was kidnapped.", Sam said. I could tell he definitely looked intrigued in the case.

"Oh? Well look at this article in April.", I said, thumbing through the folder. "Or this one from December 'oh-four, 'oh-three, 'ninety-eight, 'ninety-two. There have been ten people that have gone missing on that road over the past twenty years. A little fishy, don't you think?"

Fishing a bag from the arsenal, Dean removed a tape recorder. "It started happening more and more, so Dad went to go dig around. That was about three weeks ago. I hadn't heard from him since, which is bad enough.", Dean said. "Then I get this voicemail yesterday.", he finished holding up the tape recorder. Pressing play, Dad's voice rang out. It had a lot of static and interference.

"Boys… Something big is starting to happen… I need to try and figure out what's going on. It may… Be very careful, you two. We're all in danger.", Dad's voice sounded gruff.

"You know if there's EVP on that?", Sam asked. Dean laughed to himself.

"Not bad, Sammy. Kinda like riding a bike, isn't it?", He asked. Sam apparently did not feel the same way, because he quickly shook his head no. "Alright. I slowed the message down, I ran it through a gold wave, took out the hiss, and this is what I got." Pressing play again, a woman's voice was heard.

"I can never go home…", she said, over and over. Sam parroted the recording.

"You know, in almost two years we have never bothered you, never asked you for a thing.", Dean said seriously. Hmm, perhaps Dean was going to convince him.

"Alright. I'll go. I'll help you find him.", Sam said in defeat. The recording did it's job, that's for sure. "I'll just have to get back first thing Monday. Just wait here." Sam turned on his heel and began working his way back to his apartment.

"What's first thing monday?", I questioned. "Is it more important than finding Dad? Whatever it is just skip it."

"It's a law school interview, and it's my whole future on a plate.", Sam answered. My eyes rolled to the back of my head. So it _wasn't_ more important than finding Dad.

"Alright, I'll make sure Dean has you back by Monday.", I confirmed. Sam smiled towards me, however, he did not realized my fingers were crossed behind my back. We would have him back once we found Dad again.

* * *

Sprawled out in the backseat of the Impala, I was lost in my thoughts. Of course, Sam being back on the team forced me to take the back seat. The huge fight leading up to this position was not particularly clean. It was full of 'fuck you', 'damn you' and 'go to hell'. Sam and Dean believed since they were the older brothers, the right to the front seat was a given. I had declared the bullshitery of that statement, but it fell on deaf ears. In the end, I found myself sitting in the back, with my arms crossed, pouting like a child. During the trip to Jericho, the two had tried to make amends. None of them worked. They joked with me, they gave me candy, they offered to let me choose the next song… with restrictions of course. I was a stubborn son of a bitch. Sitting up from the back seat, I tuned into the conversation in front of me. Sam had been speaking to the Jericho morgue and was getting off the phone.

"Thank you.", Sam said, closing the phone. Shoving a hand full of sour patch kids into my mouth, I leaned forward to listen to what they said. "Alright. So, there's no one matching Dad at the hospital or morgue. So that's something, I guess…"

"Check it out.", Dean announced. We had arrived at one of the bridges leading into Jericho 7. Two police cars were parked along the bridge, with multiple cops searching around it. The police were picking through a parked car in the middle of the bridge. All four doors of the car were open, along with the hood of the car and the trunk. The police had several items labeled as evidence inside the car. Dean pulled over and set the Impala in park.

"You two idiots talk to the cops, see if they have found anything unusual, I'll look around the bridge.", I ordered. Clearly I was still angry. I really didn't need to explain everyone's roles, I just wanted an opportunity to make a crack at them… I hate always having to sit in the back… Without so much of a glance in my direction, Dean passed around ID cards with our pictures on them. Snatching mine from him, I glanced at the picture. It looked similar to me. A tad younger, overall pretty awkward. The ID was labeled, 'forensic analysis'. This ID gave me the excuse to mosey around the crime scene and take pictures. Over the course of the last few years, Dad, Dean, and I learned that when I attempted to pull off playing an FBI agent or something along those lines, it never panned out well. I was much too young, and people saw right through the bullshit. So, after the first few people started pulling out handcuffs when I introduced myself as 'agent Jones', I was quickly demoted to more supporting roles… But I digress. Looping the ID around my neck, I grabbed the cheap-o camera Dad had bought for me to fit my part. Personally, I liked my camera, I had multiple pictures of ghosts and monsters on it from my adventures. Climbing over the leather seats, I stepped out onto the pavement.

Walking over to the edge of the bridge, I peered over. Men in wetsuits were sifting through the dirty water below the bridge. Glancing over my shoulder, my brothers had strutted over to the police and were talking to them like it was now their crime scene. Sam looked pretty comfortable, I guess it really _was_ like riding a bike. Turning back towards the edge of the bridge, I brought the camera to my eye and snapped a picture of the nasty waters below. Sometimes, but not unheard of, I manage to capture some sort of spirit when I take pictures around supernatural hot spots. I don't have a good feeling about this one, but never hurts to try.

"Hey!", A voice sounded off next to me, "You can't take pictures around here." An older policeman stomped towards me. Here we go… Giving the man a smile, I spoke.

"Hello!", I said. "I'm wi-"

"What authorization do you have to be here?", he interrupted… Officer Higgins, or so read his name badge. He was clearly trying to intimidate me, he posted up to me, and spoke very firmly to me. But he sure as hell wasn't going to scare me after what I've seen in my life, it was almost amusing.

"Actually, I am authorized to be here.", I started again with a smile. "My name is…", stealing a glance at my badge, my eyes bulged from my head. Quickly regaining my composure I held my badge up to Higgins and continued speaking. "Agent Teddy Harris… I'm a forensic technician, so it's my job to take pictures and collect samples that can be further analyzed. Is there a problem with that?" I am going to kick Dean's ass. I don't look like a Teddy! Showing the same aggression as the man, he seemed to calm down a bit.

"I see..", Higgins responded. "You just seem pretty young to be an agent…", he trailed off. I could tell he was heavily thinking about my position. God, I hope this doesn't end with my brothers having to break me from jail again… Finally, he shook his head and stated, "Shit, maybe I'm just getting old. Just finish taking your pictures and leave. Our small town can solve its own problems, we don't need outsiders poking their noses into our business." Turning, Higgins walked back towards one of the flashing cop cars. How cliché, small town cop, fighting for his home. Even if it's over events he can never comprehend. Aiming my camera towards the end of the bridge I snapped another picture

Edging towards the car, I scanned through the interior. Didn't exactly look like much of a struggle. Assuming this case on this particular bridge is the same as the ten other disappearance cases over the years, it's hard to rule out anything non-paranormal. Who's to say this guy just didn't get robbed? Or dragged off? Regardless, I snapped a picture of the interior of the car and began making my way back to my brothers. I picked up speed when I noticed Sam stomp on Deans foot. What the Hell was Dean running his mouth off about now? By the time I was able to join with them, Sam had already bid farewell and they were turning to walk to the Impala.

"Thank you for your time.", Sam said to the officer. Rushing in behind them, I eagerly stuck my ear up to listen to the dirt they got from the cops. Unfortunately, I didn't get any dirt immediately. I had to deal with an argument. Dean suddenly brought his hand across the back of Sam's head. "Ow! What was that for?", Sam complained.

"Why'd you have to stomp on my foot?", Dean angrily retorted.

"Why do you have to talk to the police like that?", Sam countered. Why, why, why. This was getting us nowhere.

"Guys, what the hell did they say?", I interrupted the quarrel. "Have they found anything abnormal? Anything on Dad?" I knew this was just false hope. These guys don't know anything. Dean twisted to stand in front of Sam and I, obviously having enough. Dean has a very low opinion of most law enforcement.

"Nah, they didn't know anything. Much less have they pieced together the disappearances that string back decades. Come on. They don't really know what's going on. We're all alone on this. I mean, if we're going to find Dad, we've got to get to the bottom of this thing ourselves.", Dean said. Sam cleared his throat, notioning behind Dean. Two FBI agents and a sheriff approached behind Dean. What the hell do they want now?

"Can I help you boys?", the sheriff said.

"No, sir, we were just leaving.", Dean replied. Stepping around the sheriff, Dean nodded in acknowledgement to the two FBI agents. "Agent Mulder, Agent Scully." We continued past the trio and head back to the Impala. At this point our next step is to look around the town of Jericho. Maybe we can find more information on the most recent victim.

* * *

Walking along the street we managed to find posters spread through the town captioned "Missing Troy Squire", containing his picture and a call back number. Sam and Dean had overheard from the police that the missing person's girlfriend was named Amy. Using that information it was safe to assume that Amy was going around town and putting up the posters. We followed the trail of posters and eventually came to a young lady posting them.

"I'll bet you thats her.", Dean noted. Sam vocalized his agreement. Walking up to her, Dean spoke. "You must be Amy.", he stated, rather than asked. She looked perplexed that three strangers were approaching her in the street. As well as… Hopeful.

"Yeah.", she answered. She glanced between the three of us. Dean continued speaking… Well, he continued bullshitting.

"Yeah, Troy told us about you. We're his uncles, I'm Dean, this is Sammy, and Riley.", Dean lied. She stared at us in disbelief.

"He never mentioned you to me.", she said. Turning on her heel, Amy turned to walk in the other direction. We stayed hot on her heels. Speaking up I, attempted to salvage what Dean created. As usual.

"Oh! Yeah that definitely sounds like Troy. We're not around much, we're up in Modesto. We have been looking around town for him. So we're kinda asking around.", I said. I gave her a smile, but she didn't look too pleased. Maybe I should have let Sammy do more of the talking. Another young lady came up to Amy and placed her hand on her arm.

"Hey, are you okay, Amy?", she said. Amy nodded in her direction. The new woman gave us a confused look. Hell, for two people going around putting up wanted posters, they sure do get uncomfortable when approached on them.

"You mind if we ask you a couple questions?", Sam asked. Glancing into Sam's eyes, Amy eventually nodded her head in acceptance. I had to resist the urge to throw my hands up into the air. Sam managed to convince them with one question, faster than what Dean and I had attempted within a short conversation. We followed the ladies to a nearby diner. The Diner had bright colors and was full of people of all ages. All were socializing and laughing with one another. I couldn't help but appreciate the small town feel this are radiated. Apparently everyone knew each other in one way or the other. This appreciated is only assumed due to the several people we asked about Troy all showed genuine concern on what possibly happened to their, friend, employee, acquaintance, etcetera and etcetera. Growing up on the road didn't exactly give me the close knit feel with anyone else apart from my brothers. I didn't have a town for support, I had three people. I might just be jealous… The five of us crammed into a booth and the questions began.

"So when was the last time you spoke with Troy?", Sam asked Amy. Amy relaxed back into the cushioned seats to recall the last conversation they had. Opening her mouth to respond, she was cut off by Dean waving down the waitress to ask her about the diner's pies. Elbowing Dean's ribs, he glanced back at Amy and nodded for her to continue. Idiot.

"Oh. Uhm. Well, I was on the phone with Troy. He was driving home. He said he would call me right back… He never did.", Amy answered. She seemed pretty confused and worried. Granted, it was far within reason. Her boyfriend had disappeared.

"He didn't say anything strange, or out of the ordinary?", Sam questioned further. Talking in depth about Troy's disappearance seemed to make her uncomfortable, she shifted in her seat before responding.

"No. Nothing that I can remember…", Amy said shaking her head, causing her necklace to jingle and rock against her collar bone. It was a small silver pentagram in a circle. Sam seemed to notice it as well.

"I like your necklace.", he complimented. Amy caught the pentagram in her grasp and held it up to the middle of the table for everyone to get a better look at. Well everyone apart from Dean, the waitress had bought his pie… So the only thing he was looking at was a slice of creamy, apple-stuffed pie.

"Troy gave it to me. Mostly to scare my parents.", Amy chuckled. "With all that devil stuff." Sam paused, looking around the table.

"Actually, it means just the opposite. A pentagram is protection against evil. Really powerful. I mean, if you believe in that kind of thing.", Sam explained, getting off subject. Dean noticed that too, and blatantly interrupted.

"Okay. Thank you, Unsolved Mysteries.", Dean said with a mouth full of pie. "Here's the deal, ladies. The way Troy disappeared, something's not right. So if you've heard anything…" Dean always had a not-so-graceful way of cutting to the chase. However, this time it paid off. Amy and her friend traded glances.

"Is something wrong?", I asked. "Do you two have any possible theories?"

"Well, it's just… I mean, with all these guys going missing, people talk.", Amy's friend started.

"About?", I encouraged. It was becoming apparent that we were going to literally have to drag information out of these people.

"It's kind of this local legend. This one girl. She got murdered out on Centennial, like decades ago.", she said. Finally we were getting somewhere. "Well, supposedly she's still out there. She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up? Well, they disappear forever." This might not be just a common kidnapping.

* * *

In my opinion the worst part of being a hunter is the research… In order to successfully _hunt_ spirits/demons/witches, the list goes on and on, one has to understand what events lead up to their being. In this case, we are assuming a vengeful spirit is what is causing the trouble in Jericho. Fortunately for me, my brothers were taking care of the research portion. We had made our way to one of Jericho's libraries, where they huddled at one of the computers. While my brothers did the hard part, I happily printed my three pictures. As I had expected, the pictures lacked in anything abnormal… But I like taking pictures. It's my own hobby. Thumbing between the three photos, I hear a scuffle at the computer behind me. Whirling around I see Sam shoving Dean's chair to the side so he can take command over the computer. Dean had an angry expression and was mouthing away his displeasure. Just like old times.

I turned back to the photos in front of me. Sam and Dean have it handled. Taking a large album from my bag, I neatly laid it out in front of me. Since Dad bought me a cheap camera, I had been putting it to use over the past few years. Granted it was only purchased to be used as a prop, but I still found myself drawn to the pictures I took. The photo album had dozens of pictures in it. Some of the pictures were of the beautiful locations we came across in our travels, other pictures were of the dangerous creatures I had managed to capture on camera without dying. All were precious to me. As a hunter, we don't always get to make our mark on the world like we dream of. We travel, we try to save who we can, and we try to make the best of what we have in our lives. Hunting is not a life that one can necessarily leave with ease, once one is exposed to the truth hiding in the dark, there is no turning back. I feel like this album is what can be my mark on the world. In its own right, it is a visual on the hardships my family and I have had to navigate through. Dad says that it is something that no one can ever see. So I suppose I am truly only making this album for myself, rather than a future lover or the masses. Personally, I have never felt like finding love and starting a family was in the stars for me anyway. Not that I don't want that in my life. I feel like my life has been bolted down by the family I was born into. I have never had the courage to just leave like Sam did. I have never had the courage to go for what I want. So far I have only followed along with what my family wants, not what I want. This book is something I want. This book is my own legacy of everything I have been through. Looking through these pictures I can follow through the horrors, heartbreak and laughs that I have been through. This book will one day be how I leave my mark on the world. But I digress.

Labeling one of the pockets, "Jericho, '04, I slid the picture of the Jericho bridge into the slot. It was my favorite of the three. It was angled straight down the bridge into the dark woods. The tail end of Troy's car was visible and none of the police had managed to worm their way into the shot. So unless I manage to find a better picture in Jericho, this will be the one!

Sliding my album back into my bag, I swung it onto my back and made my way to my brothers. They were hovering over a _Jericho Herald_ article that was titled, "Suicide on Centennial".

"So what's the story?", I asked. Sam turned his head to look at me, and gave a smile. Turning back towards the monitor he bagan speaking.

"This was back in 1981. Constance Welch, twenty-four years old, jumps off Sylvania Bridge, drowns in the river. An hour before they had found her, she had called 911. Apparently her two little kids are in the bathtub. She leaves them alone for a minutes, and when she comes back, they aren't breathing. Both die.", Sam gave a brief summary of the article. Looking over his shoulder, the article had a picture of a young man next to a picture of the bridge we had been at earlier that day. The picture had a direct quote underneath it. "'Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it,' said husband Joseph Welch", Sam read. Pondering a moment, Dean spoke up.

"The bridge look familiar to either of you?", Dean questioned.

* * *

It was late at night. The bridge we had been on earlier that day paled in comparison on how creepy it was now. The cops were gone, someone had towed Troy's car, and all that could be heard was the churning waters below. Coming to the edge of the bridge, the three of us peered over into the dark, murky river.

"So this is where Constance took the swan dive.", Dean announced. He leaned back on the railing and crossed his arms.

"So you think Dad would have been here?", Sam asked. He glanced up and down the bridge, not a soul in sight.

"I'm sure Dad has been here long before us. He probably has been long gone as well.", I answered. Dean pushed himself off the bridge railings and began lazily walking down the bridge. Sam and I quickly picked up speed to stay with him.

"Okay, so now what?", Sam hummed.

"Now we keep digging until we find him… Might take a while.", Dean said. That stopped Sam in his tracks. He had made it abundantly clear that he would be back by Monday for the interview… Unfortunately for him, we needed to find Dad.

"Dean, I told you, I've gotta get back by Monday.", Sam said sternly. This caused Dean to whirl around and come face to face with Sam. I can already tell this was going to progress into a fight between the two…

"Monday. Right. The interview.", Dean said slowly. He didn't seem entertained.

"Sam, we will get you back to Stanford… but we _have_ to find Dad first… Remember? He is missing.", I reminded Sam. "Let's just drop it for now and keep looking." I was trying my hardest to change the flow of energy to a more docile one, but Dean wasn't having any part of it.

"No. Let's not. Actually, I forgot. You're really serious about this, aren't you? You think you're just going to become some lawyer? Marry your girl?", Dean challenged. His face was beginning to turn a shade of red. Sam did not back down.

"Maybe. Why not?", Sam responded. He was growing more frustrated as well...

"Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean, does she know about the things you've done?", Dean asked. That struck a nerve with Sam, causing him to take a step closer to Dean.

"Dean, that's uncalled for!", I snapped. "Are we really going to fight right now? At this moment in time?" The situation was beginning to spiral out of control. Naturally, they both ignored me and continued their quarrel.

"No, and she's not ever going to know.", Sam responded.

"Well, that's healthy.", Dean shot back sarcastically. "You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later you're going to have to face up to who you really are." Dean turned and continued walking down the bridge. Sam was hot on his heels, both leaving me in the dust.

"And who's that?', Sam spat. Sam stomped in front of Dean so they were face to face. I quickly attempted to step between them, before things got any worse. Looking wildly between them I was at a loss for words.

"You're one of us!", Dean exclaimed, pointing a finger into Sam's chest.

"No. I'm not like you. This is not going to be my life!", Sam exclaimed in response.

"You have a responsibility to-", Dean started.

"To Dad? And his crusade?", Sam interrupted. "If it weren't for pictures I wouldn't even know what mom looks like. And what difference would it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed her, Mom's gone. And she isn't coming back." That was harsh. Glancing at Dean, I could see the twinge of pain in his eyes. I felt nothing. Suddenly, Dean grabbed Sam by the collar and shoved him back against the railing of the bridge with a loud bang.

"Guys!", I yelled. I ran forward and grabbed the back of Dean's jacket. "Stop! This is _not_ the time or place. Do you think Mom and Dad would want us fighting about this? Dean, just walk away." I was ignored. After a long pause that felt like hours, Dean finally spoke.

"Don't talk about her like that…", Dean whispered, releasing Sam. Turning to walk down the bridge, Dean came to a halt. I peered into Sam's eyes, he seemed pretty shook about what had just happened.

"Guys.", Dean said, catching our attention. Unanimously, Sam and I turned to Dean, only to notice what he was starting at. A woman was standing at the edge of the bridge. She was dressed all in white. This is Constance… Turning to give us a single glance, she silently stepped off the bridge into the darkness below. Without a second thought, I raced to the edge of the bridge and looked over. All that could be seen down below was the rapids.

"I don't see her…", I yelled to my brothers. Down the railing I could hear my brother's response.

"Where'd she go?" Sam asked. I scanned my eyes all over the water… Nothing. She was nowhere in the water. The Impala's engine turning over pulled me from my search. The headlight turning on nearly blinded me.

"What the-", Dean started. At least we were all on the same page. Each as confused as the next.

"Who's driving your car?", Sam asked. Maybe he left the keys in the engine… And then his car somehow turned over? The sound of keys jingling reverborated between me and Sam causing us both to glance at Dean. The car then quickly jerked into motion and began speeding it's way down the bridge.

"Fuck me!", I yelled over the roar of the engine. The three of us turned tail and ran. I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest. The muscles in my legs were screaming… Damn, I need to get into better shape. Despite our feeble attempt, the car, believe it or not, was faster. Closing in on us, I made a last ditch effort and dove to my left. Diving face first on to the black top, I continued rolling until I was next to the opposite railing. As the Impala zoomed past me, I looked up praying that it wouldn't hit my brothers. The Impala was nearing my brothers. I felt my breath hitch. Moments before the car mowed them over, Sam and Dean leaped over the edge of the bridge. The Impala then came to an abrupt stop. "Sam! Dean!", I yelled.

Climbing to my feet, I staggered to the edge of the bridge. Arriving at the edge I found Sam desperately clinging to the side. I wonder how the hell he pulled that off…

"Sammy!", I exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're okay!" I grabbed Sam by his sleeves and worked on pulling him over the railings. Once Sam was safe on the bridge, I looked out into the waters. "Dean! Dean!", I began yelling. A voice was heard from the bank of the river.

"What?", Dean answered. Following his voice, I found a pissy, muddy Dean laid out in the mud. I let my head fall on the railings, I've never felt so relieved in my life. Thank God, he's okay…

"Hey! Are you alright?", Sam yelled down to the bank.

"I'm super", Dean yelled back. Sarcastically, of course. But he was alive. That's all that matters.

After Dean crawled out of the mud and made his way back up to the bridge he spent a solid thirty minutes checking over his Impala. He looked in the driver's seat, the trunk, and in under the hood. After thirty minutes of searching, Dean seemed content with his investigation. He shut the hood of his car with a satisfying THUMP and leaned against it.

"Your car alright?", Sam asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, whatever she did to it, seems alright now. That Constance chick, What a _bitch!"_ , Dean finished with a yell. I took three steps from Dean, God he smelled awful…

"Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure. So where's the trail go from here, genius?", Sam laughed. Sam walked over to lean against the Impala next to Dean. Dean suddenly threw his arms up in the air out of frustration.

"Dean… You smell like shit.", I stated bluntly. I received a pretty glare from him.

"You do smell like shit.", Sam agreed with a laugh. Dean silently looked between us and bowed his head.

* * *

By the time we arrived at a motel, sunrise had already began lighting up our surroundings. Walking into the motel, Dean slapped the ID on the desk and spoke.

"One room, please.", he said. Hopefully this room has a pull out couch. Usually I am stuck on the floor when we go without, especially with Sam back in the crew. Due to the fact that I am 'the little brother and shit rolls downhill', I typically find myself sleeping on the couch or floor. Again, another disadvantage to Sam being back. I feel like I am going to be stuck playing in the background again with Sam here… Once again here I am on the outside looking in. Regardless, Dean probably looked like a sight, he was still covered in mud. The Clerk glanced at the card reading 'Hector Aframian', then glanced between the three of us.

"You guys having a reunion or something?", the clerk asked.

"What do you mean?", Sam questioned the man.

"I had another guy, Burt Aframian. He came and bought out a room for the whole month.", the clerk answered.

"Oh! That's our great uncle, Burt. I didn't realize he was going to be staying at the same motel as us!", I laughed. "Which room is he in exactly? I can't wait to surprise him." The clerk raised his eyebrows, then began flipping through the guest ledger to find Burt's name. Bingo.

* * *

After getting the room number, we immediately made our way to it. Sam had the locked picked in a matter of seconds. The motel door swung open and a wave of nostalgia slapped me in the face. This was Dad's room. I closed the door behind us and hit the lights. The walls of the room were covered in maps, articles, and pictures. Dad had books strewn out on the floor and bed. He had clearly been doing some research. I couldn't help but cringe when Dean picked up a half eaten cheeseburger and gave it a sniff. Dean instantly winced and brought it away from his face… Dumbass.

"I don't think he's been here for a couple days at least.", Dean deduced. Kneeling down to the floor I ran my fingers through the salt lined along the floor.

"I wonder if he was trying to keep something out of the room.", I speculated. "I mean, look at all the traps he has set out." Sam made his way up to the papers covering one of the walls.

"Centennial highway victims.", Dean assumed. Sam nodded in agreement. The wall had an assortment of victims that had disappeared. Apart from being young and male, nothing that really set them apart… "I don't get it. I mean, different men, different jobs, ages, ethnicities. There's always a connection, right? What do these guys have in common?", Dean continued.

"Dad figured it out.", Sam announced.

"How do you know for sure?", I asked. I crossed the room until I was next to Sam. He was looking at one of the articles tacked on the wall. The article on the wall was the _Jericho Herald_ we found involving Constance's suicide.

"He found the same article we did. Constance Welch. She's the woman in white.", Sam explained. I could see the gears in Dean's head turning. Typically vengeful spirits have something traumatic happen in their lives that cause then to be unable to move on. We had previously came to the conclusion that Constance's husband was unfaithful and she now targets other unfaithful men… But that was all in theory.

"You sly dogs", Dean chuckled, turning towards the list of constance's victims. "Alright, so if we're dealing with a woman in white, Dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it."

"She might have another weakness.", Sam suggested.

"Nah, Dad would burn the bitch just to make sure. Do we know where she is buried?", I added.

"No, not that I can tell. If I were Dad, though, I'd go ask her husband.", Sam answered. Sam tapped on the photo of Joseph Welch. "If he's still alive."

Well, now that we had the beginnings of a game plan, I went ahead and pushed all of Dad's shit off one of the beds and laid down. I was in absolute bliss the second my head hit the pillow. Surely later Sam or Dean would force me off the bed, but until then I was going to enjoy the rickety motel bed.

"Alright, why don't you… Uh… See if you can find an address, I'm gonna get cleaned up.", Dean said. I could hear Dean's footsteps trailing towards the bathroom. It was a pretty awkward silence.

"Hey, Dean… What I said earlier, about Mom and Dad, I'm sorry…", Sam apologized. Again the silence was deafening. Dean's response was classic Dean.

"No chick-flick moments.", Dean said. The atmosphere in the room immediately changed to a less strenuous one.

"Alright. Jerk.", Sam laughed. Oh shit. This bit again. They had been doing this shit since we were kids.

"Bitch.", Dean responded. Hit footsteps continued into the bathroom and shut the door. Sam and Dean have always had a different bond with each other. I honestly felt like I could never attain it.

Pushing those feelings out of my head, I quickly pushed my body off of the bed and walked over to the large mirror in the motel room. I maintained eye contact with myself in the mirror. Running my hands through my hair I noticed a picture that had been stuck in the mirror frame. It was a picture of Dad sitting on the hood of the Impala, holding what I presumed was Sam as a toddler. Next to Dad was a young Dean, smiling a goofy smile. Taking the photo in my hand, I flipped it over. I guess I wasn't around to be in the picture. Turning, I handed the photo it Sam. He gave it one look and smiled sadly. He could clearly understand what was going on in my mind.

"I guess you were inside sleeping, right?", he chuckled. I suppose I was.

* * *

We slept until about four that afternoon. Being up all night can make one pretty exhausted. Of course I ended up on the floor… initially. It was another fight on who gets the bed. The main excuse came down to me 'being the little brother', it wasn't a good excuse anymore. However at some point, much to Dean's displeasure, I possibly got up and crawled into bed with him… Not that I remember. Dean demonstrated his dissatisfaction by abruptly shoving me out of bed when he woke up… It was nice while it lasted.

"Hey, I'm starving, I'm gonna grab a little something to eat in that diner down the street. Either of you want something?", Dean asked, shrugging on his jacket. He's always hungry.

"No", Sam answered. My jaw dropped. I am never one to say no to free food.

"How about you Riley? Aframian's buying", Dean continued. I nodded my head and began writing my order down. Taking the order from me, Dean shoved it into his jacket pocket and made his leave. Turning to Sam I watched him. He was listening to the voicemail his girlfriend had left him, for the third time. It was clear from his facial expression that he missed her. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for dragging him away from his new life. I slid next to him on the bed and spoke.

"Are you mad at me and Dean for making you come with us? Did you not miss us at all?", I whispered. Sam looked taken aback. I guess he didn't expect me to call him out on it. Sam paused for a moment… Then inhaled to speak. However, before he could, his phone began beeping. 'DEAN' read out on the phone.

"What?", Sam asked. I strained my ear to hear Dean… But everything coming from the phone was incomprehensible. "What about you?", Sam questioned standing up. He looked stressed, hopefully Dean is okay. Sam slipped the phone into his pocket and started rummaging around the room. He looked like a blur, running around the room.

"What's going on, Sam!? Tell me!", I demanded. I grabbed my backpack with my camera and album and slung it over my shoulder.

"Cops are here. They got Dean. It's time for us to go. Let's start by going to see Joseph Welch. We can break Dean out later.", Sam clarified. Following him into the bathroom, Sam opened the window and crawled through. I was hot on his heels in following behind him. I poised myself and leaped through the window. My dismount on the other hand was not as elegant however. My bag caught on the window frame and caused me to fall flat on my face.

"Son of a bitch", I grunted. Climbing to my feet, I staggered after Sam. Lucky for me, he was already trekking to the Impala and didn't notice my debacle. When we made it to the Impala, I climbed into the the front and threw my bag into the back seat. Sam hopped into the drivers and turned over the engine. Sam had figured out Joseph Welch's location from many google searches, so we had an idea of where to start. Pulling out of the motel parking lot, I look in the rear view mirror and notice Dean being slammed against the hood of the police car. He just doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut…

* * *

We pulled up at Joseph's house and I found myself in awe. I couldn't help but look wildly around his home. It was surrounded by piles and piles of junk. The stacks of cars, refrigerators, and engines were absolutely impressive. Trotting up to the front door, Sam leaned forward and gave it a good knock. Eventually an older man came to the door: Joseph Welch, I assume.

"Hi. Are you Joseph Welch?", Sam inquired. The man looked from me to my brother. He didn't exactly seem happy that there were two strange men on his doorstep.

"Yeah...", Joseph answered. He stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind him. The three of us began walking down the junk-filled driveway. Pulling the photo from his pocket, Sam handed it to Joseph.

"Has this man come talk to you recently?", Sam asked pointing at the picture of a younger John.

"Yeah, he was older, but that's him.", Joseph said, handing the picture back to Sam. "He came by three or four days ago. Said he was a reporter."

"Of course! We're working on a story together", I lied. It's probably best we play along, if we want to get anywhere with this guy.

"Well, I don't know what the hell kinda story you're working on. The questions he asked me…", Joseph said. He clearly didn't want to talk about it. But that was too damn bad.

"About your wife constance, right?", I elaborated.

"He asked me where she was buried…", Joseph continued, all the while glaring at me. We were literally going to have to force all of this information out of him. What a pain in the ass. On top of that, he seemed to be getting more and more aggressive. Which annoyed the hell out of me.

"And where is that again?", I demanded. It was obvious in my tone of voice I was losing my patience.

"What, are y'all going to make me go through this shit again?", Joseph hissed. I took a step closer to him and opened my mouth to speak again… Fortunately, I was interrupted by Sam. Sammy to the rescue. I was going to pull a Dean stunt if I lose any more of my composure.

"It's fact-checking. If you don't mind.", Sam said with a smile. Sam's tone seemed to smooth over this guys anger, because he started feeding out information again.

"She's in a plot. Behind my old place over on Breckenridge.", Joseph responded.

"And why did you move?", Sam asked.

"Well I'm not going to live in the house where my children died.", Joseph answered bewildered.

"Did you ever marry again?", I butted in. I felt like the vibe had simmered a bit, at least to where I could ask simple questions again. He responded without much attitude.

"No way.", Joseph murmured. "Constance, she was the love of my life. The prettiest woman I ever known."

"So you had a happy marriage?", Sam interrogated. Joseph opened his mouth to respond… But hesitated a moment.

"Definitely.", He said, after a second or two passed. I could tell this conversation was nearing its end.

"Well, that should do it. Thanks for your time.", Sam said. My guess was Sam had enough information to come to his own conclusion on where to go next. Joseph turned to begin making his way back to his house… However, he was stopped by Sam's voice.

"Mr. Welch!", he called out. "Did you ever hear of a woman in white?" Joseph turned and gave us a puzzled look. "A woman in white. Or sometimes weeping woman? It's a ghost story… Well it's more of a phenomenon, really.", Sam elaborated. This was going right over Joseph's head. "Uhm, they're spirits. They've been sighted for hundreds of years, dozens of places, in Hawaii, Mexico, lately in Arizona, Indiana. All these are different women. You understand? They all share the same story." Sam was basically preparing to ask this man if he cheated on his wife. Joseph saw it coming as well, he took a step towards Sam.

"Boy, I don't care much for this bullshit!", he snapped. Joseph turned on his heel and continued walking away.

"See, when they were alive, their husbands were unfaithful to them…", Sam continued. This comment stopped Joseph dead in his tracks. "And these women, basically suffering from temporary insanity, murdered their children. Then once they realized what they had done, they took their own lives. So now their spirits are cursed, walking back roads, waterways. And if they find an unfaithful man, they kill him. And that man is never seen again." Sam struck the nail on the head.

"You think… you think that has something to do with… Constance? You smartass!", Joseph growled. Oh now he is pissed… Better at Sam than me. Maybe I should try to take the focus off Sam.

"Well… Did you?", I asked. Joseph changed his point of view to me… And if looks could kill. Maybe speaking up was a mistake.

"I mean, maybe… Maybe I made some mistakes. But no matter what I did, Constance, she would never have killed her own children. Now, you two get the hell out of here! And don't think about coming back!", Joseph yelled. Joseph's face was physically shaking. He looks like he is going to cry. Backing up I tap Sam on his chest.

"Sam we need to get out of here before he pulls a shotgun on us.", I whispered. Looking down at me Sam nodded in agreement.

Piling back into the Impala, my head was reeling with the information I was just given. Sam pulled out his phone and made a quick 911 call, hopefully that would get the police out of Dean's hair so he could break free. I didn't exactly feel like fighting for the front seat, so I went ahead and awkwardly crawled into the back seat.

"So, the general story I have is Constance found out Joseph cheated on her, drowned her children, and then commit suicide by jumping off the bridge.", I explained to Sam. "So I expect Dad, having that information, would have gone straight to the grave site to burn the body… But obviously he didn't, because she is still around."

"Yeah.", Sam agreed. "We still have some daylight, we need to head back to Dean, then go over to Constance's house." Nodding in agreement, I zipped open my bag and prepped my camera. Jericho might just have a better kodak moment in store for me.

* * *

Within the thirty minutes of driving the sun set and we were shrouded in darkness. Eventually, Sam's phone rang. Dean was calling from a toll booth, clearly he had escaped from jail. Sam put it on speaker phone and placed it to where we could both hear Dean. Sam quickly gave Dean the cliffnotes on everything we had found out.

"... And that's all we know. I just can't figure out why Dad hasn't destroyed he corpse yet.", Sam said.

"That's what I needed to tell y'all. He's gone. Dad left Jericho.", Dean explained.

"What?", Sam asked. "How do you know that?"

"I've got his journal.", Dean clarified. How in the hell did he get that? That journal was Dad's baby.

"So you're telling me we made this trip to Jericho for nothing?", I chimed in. "Why would Dad leave a job unfinished? Actually, Why would Dad leave his journal? He would drop us before leaving without that thing. What does it say?"

"It says the same old ex-marine crap, when he wants to let us know where he's going.", Dean said. I threw my hands up. This means more coordinates to decipher.

"Coordinates. Where to?", Sam responded. He has not forgotten Dad's communication habits over the past two years.

"I'm not sure… Yet.", Dean sighed.

"I don't understand. I mean, what could be so important that Dad would just skip out in the middle of a job? Dean, what the hell is going on?", Sam asked. Leaning back in my seat I rubbed my temples. This whole situation is starting to get annoying as hell. Why would he leave? When I glanced up back at the road I felt my heart drop down into my stomach.

"Sam!", I screamed. The ghost of Constance has appeared in the middle of the road. Sam, glancing up from the phone, gasps and slams on the breaks. My body was thrown into the back of the Impala seats, nearly toppling me over into the shotgun seat. I could hear Sam's phone clatter onto the Impala's floor boards. Despite his quick actions, the impala crashed through Constance, effectively dissipating her. When the Impala finally screeched to a halt, I found myself gasping for air. Why the hell is she out here? I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end… The temperature in the car felt like it nose dived… Pushing my body back into my seat, I slowly turned my head, only to find Constance sitting in the seat adjacent to me. Fuck. Me. She was dressed in a white gown. Enhanced by the fact she was translucent, her skin was extremely pale. She had eye contact with Sam in the rear view mirror.

"Take me home", she demanded in an eerie voice. Well shit… I'm stuck in the backseat with her. "Take me home!", she repeated, louder. I backed my happy ass as far into the corner as I could possibly go.

"No.", Sam responded sternly. Apparently this bitch wasn't having any of it… I felt the locks in the car all activate and the car started pulling forward.

"What the hell, Sam?", I growled. "She's in the car! It's not like we can out run her!" Constance was still staring at sam in the rear view mirror.

"I'm not doing this…", he responded. "She's taking us home…"

The drive to Constance house was an awkward ten minute drive. I remained in my corner, poised to attack the second I was given the chance. Sam's fingers were glued to the steering wheel. Well now what? Eventually, we pulled into the driveway. The Impala shuttered to a stop and all of the lights flickered off. Constance remained unmoving and focused. Well… Better now than never, my kodak moment was here. Quickly bringing my camera to my eye, I snapped a picture of her. The flash illuminated the car's interior with a white light. I felt my entire body be shoved into the side of the car. My camera fell into the floorboard. When my vision came back to, I found Constance leaned over the seat in my face. Well shit, that didn't work.

"Don't do this…", Sam demanded from the front seat. Fortunately for me, his voice took her attention off me. She moved back into her previous position and bowed her head. I attempted to pry myself off the car's interior… But I was still stuck, unable to move. Shit, we're screwed.

"I can never go home", she whispered.

"You're scared to go home.", Sam said. Right before my eyes, Constance disappeared out of existence. Sam whirled around only to find an empty back seat, minus his brother stuck against the side of the car. Turning back around, Constance reappeared in the shotgun seat. Before Sam could react, she crawled into his lap and shoved him hard, causing his seat to recline. Well shit this is a bit awkward.

"Sam!", I yelled. I struggled as much as possible, but the power she had over me was stronger. "Damnit! What do I do, Sam!?"

"Hold me. I'm so cold.", Constance begged to Sam. Sam twisted and turned, but he was unable to get from underneath her.

"You can't kill me! I'm not unfaithful! I've never been!", Sam challenged. She did not seem satisfied with that response. Leaning forward, she whispered to him.

"You will be… Just hold me.", she said. Despite Sam's objection, she laid a kiss on his lips. I felt so powerless, only able to stand by while my brother gets violated… And probably killed! When she pulled back from him, she suddenly vanished. I frantically glance around the cab, she was nowhere to be seen… Suddenly Sam began screaming in pain and grasping at his chest. From my position in the back I was unable to see what she was doing to him. He pulled up his hoodie, only in time for her to reappear in front of him with her hand in his chest.

"Sam!", I screamed to no avail. Abruptly, loud shots were heard from outside of the car on the passenger side. The glass broke to reveal Dean standing outside with a gun aimed at Constance. He continued to fire until she vanished again. The second she flickered out, Sam flew into an upright position and turned over the car. The car roared to life, and the headlights turned on peering into Constance's home.

"I'm taking you home!", Sam growled.

"Do _what_!? You're taking her _where_!?", I screamed back. God, he isn't about to do what I think is he? The car lurched forward. I attempted to brace myself, however, I was still stuck to the corner of the car. All I could do was close my eyes and hope for the best while the Impala crashed through the side of the house. Wood and drywall flew in every direction. By the time it was all done with, we were sitting pretty in the living room of the old house. Wildly eyeballing the house, Constance was nowhere to be found. I also had regained my mobility in the middle of Sam's last resort. Crawling into the front seat, Dean's voice rang from outside of the Impala.

"Sam! Riley! You okay?", he yelled. Too tired to speak I gave him a thumbs up. Kicking open the door, I stepped out into the old house. We had apparently crash landed in the living room. The room had furniture that was covered in dust and cobwebs. Ultimately it looked as bleak one would expect an old abandoned house to look. I guess after Constance died, Joseph just left the house and never turned back. By the time I had turned around, Dean had already rushed to Sam's aid and pulled him from the car. At some point Constance had flickered into existence and picked up a large framed family photo. The woman in white already looked pretty sad. As I watched her stare into the frame of her past life I couldn't help but feel… Pity? Dean slammed the car door, causing Constance to whip around and glare at us. Rearing back, she slammed the picture into the ground and motioned at the bureau. The bureau began sliding across the hardwood floor, slamming into Sam and Dean, effectively pinning them against the Impala.

"Guys!", I panicked. Sliding over the front of the Impala, I pushed against the furniture. It wasn't going anywhere… Looking back at Constance, she had began making her way towards us. Shit. This was getting way out of hand… At this rate, we were going to be killed by some crazy woman on our first night back together as a team. Frantically looking around my surroundings, I searched for _something_ that would help. Iron… Salt… _Anything!_

When all hope seemed lost, the lights in the car and around the house began flickering. This seemed to shock Constance as well. She took her focus off us and looked for the source causing the lights to flicker. What the hell is going on? The trickling of water, brought our attention to the staircase. Water flowed down the staircases, pooling at the bottom. Constance, timidly stepped to the bottom of the staircase and looked up it. Whatever she saw terrified her. The voices that came from the top of the staircase terrified me.

"You've come home to us, mommy.", two voices spoke in monotonous unity. Suddenly, two children came into being behind Constance, embracing her. She screamed as their energy merged with hers. The three became one melting into a puddle onto the floor. And with that, the woman in white was no more. Seizing opportunity, I shoved the bureau off of my brothers and freed them. Sam and Dean, pushed past me and ran to the spot the trio had disappeared.

"So this is where she drowned her kids.", Dean deduced.

"That's why she could never go home. She was too scared to face the.", Sam replied. I wonder when he figured that out.

"You found her weak spot!", Dean exclaimed with a laugh. "Nice work, Sammy."

"Nice work?", I growled. "Sam, drove through the side of a house into the living room… With me in the car! You scared the shit out of me!" I agree, Sam did do solid work… But he scared me. Stomping over to the Impala, I leaned in and dug in the back seat for my camera.

"Double nice work, Sammy. You scared the shit out of Riley.", Dean taunted. I quickly turned and mock laughed along with Dean. Dumbass. Turning on my camera, I flipped to the most recent shot of constance. Luckily, she was able to make it into the picture. Rather than her turning into a blue blur, or some other form of a screwed up picture, she was fully in the photo. The flash enhanced her translucency, she was beautiful… Despite the face she was giving the camera a death stare. Maybe I should have asked her to say cheese? Regardless, it looks like I have a winner for the Jericho spot in my album. Looking up from my picture, Sam and Dean were still bantering back and forth. Rolling my eyes, I interrupted.

"So now what? Are we going to swing back through Palo Alto, drop Sam off, then make our way to the coordinates?", I asked. Sam seen taken aback from the blunt question. "That was the deal right?" God, I was being a petty little bitch.

"Well… That was the deal, Riley…", Sam said slowly. The pause afterwards was a lifetime. Fortunately, that pause was alleviated by mr. comic relief, Dean.

"We are men of our word. If Sam wants to puss out, who are we to stop him? We'll play along… For now.", Dean said with a laugh. He slapped his hands on my shoulders and briefly massaged them, directing me towards the car. "Now, let's see if I can drive out of this shit hole without damaging my baby even more than _Sammy_ already has." Piling back into the Impala, Dean expertly drove out of the abandoned home and started us back to town.

* * *

Flying down the road, the three of us discussed the coordinates Dad left for us. Sam, had the journal opened to the page, and was attempting to measure out the coordinates on a map. After several minutes of daunting measuring, Sam had our location.

"Okay, here's where Dad went.", he started. "It's called Blackwater Ridge, Colorado." Hmm, haven't been to Colorado in a while. I peered over Sam's shoulder to see the surrounding areas of Colorado. Hopefully after we find Dad, we could visit somewhere cool for a little R&R. Shaking my head, I focused back on the conversation.

"Awesome. How far is the drive?", I questioned.

"About six hundred miles.", Sam answered. A ways away.

"Hey, if we shag ass we could make it by morning.", Dean spoke nonchalantly. It seemed Dean hadn't given up on Sam staying either. I had tried the guilt act, maybe Dean could make him stay by simply pretending Sam didn't have an interview he was dead set on… We shall see.

"Dean, I…", Sam hesitated. Shocker.

"You're not going.", Dean finished. The disappointment in his voice was audible. I wonder if he would be this sad if I tried to leave. Shaking the jealous thoughts from my head, I leaned forward to eagerly hear Sam's response.

"The interview is in like, ten hours. I gotta be there. You both know this is what I want.", Sam said. He turned to me with wide eyes to reiterate his point. I relaxed back in my seat feeling hopeless. I guess I won't see Sam again… For a while, at least.

"Yeah. Yeah. Whatever.", Dean replied in defeat. "I'll take you home." The rest of the car ride was ridden in silence. Minus the hard rock playing in the background.

* * *

It was one thirty in the morning when we made it back to Sam's apartment. Dean nor I could look at Sam as he got out of the car. He was leaving us… Again. Leaning into the window, Sam spoke.

"Call me if you two find him?", he whispered. Dean nodded. I stayed silent. What's the point? "And maybe I can meet up with you later, huh?"

"Yeah, alright.", Dean stated. Tapping the hood of the car, Sam turned away. A moment passed before Dean leaned to the passenger door and called to Sam.

"Sam?", he called. Sam twisted around and raised his eyebrows in question. "The three of us made a hell of a team back there." Wow, nice to be included this time around. Crawling into shotgun I leaned out the passenger window to speak.

"Sam, make sure to call some. We _do_ miss you.", I said. He smiled back.

"Yeah… I miss you guys too. And we did make a hell of a team. It was just like old times.", he said with a grin. Saying our goodbyes, Dean hit the gas and drove off. Sam watched us leave briefly, before turning to enter his apartment. My heart still felt heavy, not that I could tell Dean that without ridicule. The loneliness between us felt claustrophobic when we left Sam behind. It didn't feel… Right. Although being with Sam again could be frustrating, suffering at the hands of the Sam and Dean show… Being together made us a family again! But leaving him behind felt wrong. It felt like a mistake. After about ten minutes of deafening silence, I spoke.

"Dean…", I whispered. "Something isn't right. I think we need to go back." Dean contemplated my statement, and then responded.

"You're right. I feel it too.", he replied. Making a U-turn on the highway, we began speeding back towards Sam's apartment. The atmosphere of the car became heavier the closer we came to his apartment. Dean skidded into the parking lot and we hauled ass to Sam's apartment. I tried the door, but of course it was locked. Stepping aside, Dean abruptly kicked it open. Moving upstairs a scream came from one of the bedrooms.

"No!", Sam screamed. I body slammed the door and it opened to a visual hell. Sam was laid back on the bed with an arm shielding his face. Above him was pinned Jess, she had a horizontal cut on her abdomen. The blood from the cut soaked her white nightgown. Flames were pouring out from behind her, traveling along the ceiling. "Jess!", Sam screamed out to no avail.

"Sam! Sam!", Dean called rushing into the bedroom after me. He halted at the horrid sight of Jess pinned on the ceiling.

"No! No!", Sam cried. Dean grabbed Sam from the bed and began pushing him out the door. Sam fought the whole way. "Jess! Jess! No!". Leaving the room, flames enveloped Jess. The flames ate at the sheetrock, leading to the curtains and so on. The flames followed us out of the apartment. Meeting in the parking lot, we watched in desperation as the fire swallowed the house.

* * *

Eventually, firemen and policemen arrived to fight the fire. However, they were unsuccessful and could only watch in awe as the house burned down. Sam stood at the back of the Impala, loading a shotgun. Resting my hand on his shoulder, I looked him in the eyes and tried to tell him everything I could with my eyes that my mouth couldn't. At first all I could see in his eyes was sorrow… But it wasn't sorrow. It was fire. Dean walked up to us and glanced to the both of us, signaling it was time to hit the trail. Tossing the shotgun into the trunk, Sam spoke.

"We got work to do.", he said. Slamming the trunk and starting our journey.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N - Here is the next chapter. Once again, this is really just a novelization of the Supernatural series, either like it or you don't. I like to write situations that make me laugh. So naturally my stories have many situations that make me laugh my ass off. Thank you to anyone that reads this. Finally, I don't own anything from Supernatural.**

* * *

35 -111. The coordinates Dad left for us landed in the middle of a huge forest. What Dad had found out there had yet to be determined. Hopefully more answers rather than questions. The drive out to Blackwater Ridge wasn't the worst we had ever made. Somehow I had even managed to pull the front seat without a fight. After leaving Palo Alto, Sam requested the back so he could stretch out and take a nap. Could hardly blame him, going through everything he had over the past week. I couldn't help but smile to myself. Our small family was back together again. Plus, it would be a hell of a lot safer hunting with Sam back on the team. A ruffle in the back seat pulled me from my thoughts. Turning to the back, Sam was sitting up, with his head nestled in his hands. He looked pale and frightened, possibly from another bad dream. Over the past week Sam had been having recurring nightmares of Jessica's death.

"You okay?", Dean asked, concerned. Sam glanced around the car taking in his surroundings.

"Yeah, I'm fine…", Sam whispered. My chest felt heavy, I know what Sam has been going through is hard on him. Dean pressed on.

"Another nightmare?", he asked. Sam cleared his throat rather than answering. Basically a lie by omission. "You wanna drive for a while?" Sam laughed at the question. Hell I wanna drive.

"Dean, your whole life you never once asked me that.", Sam responded with a half smile.

"Just thought you might want to . Never mind.", Dean smirked. If I were Sam I sure as hell would have taken the offer. Dean _never_ makes offers like that. I took no hesitation in putting my two cents in.

"Dean, I would _love_ to drive. How about we pull over, I'll drive, maybe pick the tunes? I feel like that would cheer Sam up.", I said half-seriously. Didn't hurt to try. Dean made a loud obnoxious laugh at my proposal.

"Sorry little brother. There is no way I am letting _you_ get behind the wheel of my baby", he answered. Crossing my arms, I turned in my seat away from him. What an asshole.

"Guys, I know you're worried about me.", Sam began. "I get it, and thank you, but I'm perfectly okay." Sam leaned forward and grabbed the map out of the front seat. "Alright, where are we?", he muttered to himself while studying the map. Looking out at the passing landscape, I deduced we were in the middle of bumble fuck nowhere. In all directions passed only two notable objects. Roads and trees. Three if you include asshole Dean munching on a breakfast burrito.

"We are just outside of Grand Junction.", Dean answered, overhearing Sam. So we are pretty damn close to the coordinates that Dad left for us. After a few moments of studying, Sam spoke up again.

"You know what? Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon.", Sam whispered. Throwing my arm over the seat, I looked at him. How am I going to approach this?

"Sammy,", I started. "We looked _everywhere_ for the past week. Couldn't find a thing. I think if we wanna find the thing that killed Jess-"

"We gotta find Dad first.", Sam finished my sentence. We had been having this conversation the entire trip to Colorado. I tried hard to be patient, Sam is going through a lot right now.

"Dad disappearing and this thing showing up again after twenty years, it's no coincidence.", Dean spoke up. Dean had a point. All of this happening at once _was_ uncanny. It left so many more questions for us. "Dad will have answers. He'll know what to do."

"These coordinates he left us.", Sam said. "This Blackwater Ridge… There's nothing there. It's just woods."

"Well I could have told you that. I don't think I have seen anything apart from trees for the past sixty miles. We are in the middle of nowhere", I joked.

"Exactly", Sam exclaimed. "Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere. I shrugged and turned my attention back out the window. A lone metal sign posted on the road read 'Welcome to Lost Creek Colorado National Forest.' Finally, something to see that isn't a tree.

* * *

We eventually came to a ranger station laid on the outskirts of the forest. Inside it was decorated with maps and pamphlets for the surrounding attractions and landscapes. I even managed to buy me a map of Blackwater Ridge for two bucks. Something to go in the ol' album if this drive turned out to be a waste of time. Sam studied a large 3D map of the national forest, all the while explaining the land to an uninterested Dean.

"So Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote…", He explained. "It's cut off by these canyons here, rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place." I made sure to ignore the 'Do Not Touch' sign and ran my fingers over the scaled map. A loud laugh caused Sam and I to turn our attention away from the map. Dean was standing next to a framed photo with a big stupid grin on his face.

"Dude, check out the size of this big freaking bear.", he laughed. I rolled my eyes into the back of my head. What an idiot. Sam continued his demographic lesson.

"And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area. It's no nature hike, that's for sure.", he finished.

"Maybe we can make Dean fight a bear. Y'know? See who comes out on top.", I teased. This quip got me a smirk from Dean. A voice coming from behind us caused us to whip around. Behind us stood a forest ranger, with a badge that read "Ranger Wilkinson".

"You boys aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?", he asked. Without skipping a beat, Sam hit him with bullshitery.

"Oh, no, sir. We're environmental study majors from UC Boulder, just working on a paper.", Sam said, awkwardly laughing. Glancing at Dean, we unanimously raised a fist to show Boulder pride.

"Recycle, man.", Dean said confidently

"Bullshit.", Wilkinson stated. So he is no stranger to the art of bullshitery. "You're friends with that Haley girl, right?" I quickly shot a glance at Dean and stepped forward.

"Yes sir, we are, Ranger-", I leaned forward and made a show of reading his name tag. "Wilkinson." Maybe we can pull a lead out of this guy.

"Well, I'll tell you exactly what I told her. Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn't be back from Blackwater until the twenty-fourth, so it's not exactly a missing persons now, is it?", Wilkinson sneered. Dean shook his head in agreement. I wasn't exactly sold. Family members do have a right to concern. "You tell that girl to quit worrying, I'm sure her brother's just fine."

"We will.", Dean stepped in. "Well that Haley girl's quite a pistol huh?"

"That's putting it mildly.", the ranger stated. He shot me a glare when I chuckled to myself. I silently hoped she had tore his ass a new one. "Something funny?", he asked.

"Oh no. It's pretty easy to picture Haley tearing into someone when she doesn't get her way. But you can't blame her for being concerned over her brother. Family is family.", I responded. The ranger huffed.

"Well, maybe she should have shown more concern when he signed the consents to hiking through Blackwater Ridge. We can't be held liable.", he sniffed. What an unempathetic jackass.

"Actually, you know what would help us is if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit.", Dean stated. "You know, so she could see her brother's return date." Ranger Wilkinson eyed Dean for a moment, before nodding his head and turning towards the office to make a copy. Good job, Dean.

The ranger returned with our copy and politely told us to get the hell out of his station. Obtaining what we came for, we gladly obliged. Exiting the station, Dean held the copy up like it was gold. If looks could kill, Sam would have murdered Dean.

"What, are you cruising for a hookup or something?", Sam asked in disbelief. Honestly it wouldn't be the first time Dean attempted something along those lines. Dean gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?", he asked.

"The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, so what are we waiting for? Let's just go find Dad. I mean, why even talk to this girl?", Sam snapped. For whatever reason, he was very hostile about taking our time with this job.

"Sammy, we don't even know why Dad sent us here. Maybe we should find out what we are walking into before we walk into it.", I stated. Dean had yet to speak. In fact, he looked at Sam like he was insane. After a moment of silence, Sam glanced between Dean and I.

"What?", he exclaimed when no one spoke again.

"Since when are you all shoot first, ask questions later?", Dean asked. In all honesty, he had a point…

"Yeah", I agreed. "Usually Dean is the one who acts before he thinks." That honest shot earned me a smack to the back of the head.

"Since now.", Sam responded bluntly. Making his point, he opened the Impala door and got in without another word. Giving Dean a shrug, I opened the driver and climbed into the back. This is going to be a hike from hell.

* * *

The address posted on the consent was an area nearby the national forest. Despite Sam's protests, we arrived and immediately made our way to the front door to introduce ourselves. Fortunately for us, Dean had printed off a few fake 'Lost Creek Trail' ranger IDs. Walking up to the Collins' front door, Dean reached up to knock on it. Sam stood behind us, uninterested. After a few moments, a young brunette answered the door. Dean immediately sprung into action.

"You must be Haley Collins.", Dean started. "I'm Dean, this is Sam and Riley. We're… We're rangers with the park service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over. He wanted us to ask a few questions about your brother Tommy." Haley didn't seem impressed. We aren't exactly dressed like park rangers.

"Lemme see some ID.", She demanded. Damn. I like this girl. Dean pulled out his fake ID and held it up to the screen door. After studying it for a second, Haley opened the screen door. "Come on in."

"Thanks.", Dean said with a smile. Ugh, he was trying to flirt with her. As the door opened, Haley must have noticed the Impala.

"That yours?", she asked, gesturing towards the car. This caused us to turn in unison.

"Yeah.", Dean replied. Surprisingly, that is all he replied. Dean _loves_ to talk about the Impala.

"Nice car.", She complimented. With that she turned on her heel and walked further into the house. Piling in behind her, Dean quickly twisted around to mouth 'nice car' to us. Rolling my eyes, I allowed him to stay in la la land. What a jackass. Reaching into my pocket, I grabbed the newest fake ID in my possession. I had forgot to check what stupid picture Dean had put on my ID. Looking at the ID, I felt my eyes bulge from my head. Dean's dumbass gave our IDs fake names and told Haley our real names. Fortunately she didn't notice… I don't think she did at least. The picture wasn't bad at all… The name… 'Bobby Vinson', not a good fit for me… Dean does this shit on purpose. Haley led us into the kitchen, where we crowded around the kitchen table. A guy younger than me sat off in the corner, keeping to himself. After a bit of small talk and introductions, we started prodding a bit more on Blackwater Ridge.

"So if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong?", Sam questioned. Haley sat down and set a bowl of snacks on the table before answering.

"He checks in every day by cell. He emails, photos, stupid little videos… We haven't heard anything in over three days now.", Haley answered. I couldn't exactly blame her for being concerned about her brother if that was the case. I would be worried too if mine went _missing_.

"Well, maybe he can't get cell reception.", Sam challenged.

"He's got a satellite phone, too.", Haley defended. Damn.

"Could it be he's just having fun and forgot to check in?", Dean chimed in. Insensitive as usual. The young guy we had been introduced to as Ben, abruptly stood up at that comment.

"He wouldn't do that!", Ben growled. Smooth Dean, smooth.

"He's your brother.", I said to Ben. "Of course he wouldn't." This seemed to simmer down Ben a bit. At least to the point he sat back down and looked away. "Do you think you could show us the pictures he sent you?" I asked Haley. Haley paused before nodding and exiting the room to grab her laptop. Shooting dean the stink eye, he rolled his eyes at me. He needs to keep his comments to himself. Returning to the kitchen, Haley opened her laptop and pulled up pictures.

"That's Tommy.", she said, showing a picture of a young man inside a tent. Clicking on another picture in the album a video pulled up onto the screen. Tommy was again sitting inside the tent and appeared to holding the camera to his face. Clicking 'play', Tommy began to speak.

"Hey Haley, day six, we're still out near Blackwater Ridge. We're fine, keeping safe, so don't worry, okay? Talk to you tomorrow.", Tommy said to the camera. He was all smiles. There was nothing on the video that stood out to me.

"Well, we'll find your brother.", Dean promised. "We're heading out to Blackwater Ridge first thing." Haley raised an eyebrow.

"Then maybe I'll see you there.", she responded. Interesting. "Look, I can't sit around here anymore. So I hired a guy. I'm heading out in the morning and I'm going to find Tommy myself."

"I think I know how you feel.", Dean whispered. I couldn't tell if Dean was trying to give her bedroom eyes or not… Shit, I hope not. We don't have time for this.

"Hey, do you mind forwarding these to me?", Sam suddenly asked. Did he notice something I didn't? Haley nodded in response and started the process of forwarding the multiple videos and pictures.

* * *

Originally we had decided to discuss our next move at the hotel. Dean, however, has other plans… _He_ wanted to drink. That was how we found ourselves at a sketchy bar on the edge of the national forest. When we entered the bar, Dean and Sam waltzed in like they owned it, no questions asked. I attempted to follow suit and was asked to show my license by the greasy bouncer. Not feeling like arguing with the man, I simply told him I was twenty years old. This got me an 'underage' stamp on the back of my had… As well as hell from my brothers. Sitting at one of the tables, Dean immediately ordered himself a beer, while Sam began talking game.

"So…", he started "Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic. Local campers, mostly. But still, this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found." Sam began pulling out prints of the many articles we had researched prior to arrival.

"Any go missing before then?", I asked. Meanwhile, I had begun the daunting task of rubbing off my 'underage' brand. This shit wasn't coming off. No Michelob Ultras for me I suppose. Sam continued speaking.

"Yeah.", Sam said, placing the article in the middle of the table. "In 1892, eight different people all vanished in the same year. Authorities said it was a grizzly attack. And again in 1959 and again before that in 1936." Dean made no haste in snatching up the article and reading it. The article was called, _The Lost Creek Gazette._

"Grizzly Bear Attacks!", Dean read the headline of the article. He continued reading aloud with me silently reading over his shoulder. "Up to eight hikers vanish in lost creek area. Hikers disappearance baffle authorities'." I eventually got bored of reading over his shoulder and relaxed back into my seat. Sam in the meantime had opened his laptop and continued speaking.

"Every twenty-three years, just like clockwork. Okay. Watch this. Here's a clincher. I downloaded Tommy's video to the laptop. Check this out." Sam spun the computer to where me and Dean could see the screen. It was paused on the video from earlier, of course. Tommy still had that goofy smile and was surrounded by the tent draping. Sam reached around the screen and tapped the 'right' arrow key three separate times. This moved the video forward three frames. Within the three frames I could see an ominous shadow move behind Tommy. Wow. What on Earth could move that quickly.

"How fast in real time is that?", I asked Sam. Glancing at Dean, he was still staring intently at the video frames.

"Three frames.", Sam said. "That's a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move." I nodded in agreement. This might be a challenge to take a picture of. Dean suddenly reached across the table and slapped Sam on the shoulder.

"Told you something weird was going on!", Dean said with a smirk.

"Yeah", Sam said half-heartedly. Closing his laptop, he put it in his bag and pulled out another newspaper article. "I got one more thing. In '59 one camper survived this supposed grizzly attack. Just a kid. Barely crawled out of woods alive." This caught Dean's attention.

"Is there a name?", he asked. The article was about a young boy named Shaw. And his road to recovery after a bear broke into his cabin and killed his parents. Well… Here is going to be another person for us to piss off with our insensitive questions.

* * *

It was about eight at night when we pulled up to Mr. Shaw's house. He was not the easiest man to find. Fortunately, the amount of personal information that can be found on the internet is astonishing. Within a few Google searches we were able to find Shaw's children's colleges, his late wife's obituary, and of course his location. For whatever reason, he chose to move out into the forest. It seemed pretty isolated, given his history one would expect him to stay as far out of the woods as possible. Knocking on the door, we waiting for the old man to answer. I couldn't help but shift uncomfortably on my feet. Being out here in the middle of the woods was a nightmare. Shaw answered the door with a puzzled smile. The plume of cigarette smoke that followed him outside made me cough.

"Hi Mr. Shaw. I'm Sam and these are my partners, we are rangers.", Sam introduced. "We were hoping to ask you a few questions about what happened that night when you were a child." Shaw gave us a questioning look, before stepping back to allow us in the house. We followed him into his living room and sat on the couch. His living room was covered with mounted animals. Ranging from bucks, to bobcats, to even grizzly bear. It was a typical mountain man's home… Well as I would stereotype one at least. Taking a puff of his cigarette, Shaw spoke.

"Look, ranger, I don't know why you're asking me about this.", Shaw said. "It's public record. I was a kid. My parents got mauled by a-"

"Grizzly?", Sam intervened. "That's what attacked them?" Shaw took another drag from his cigarette and nodded.

"How about everyone else that went missing that year? Do you think those were bear attacks too?" I asked. "Or even the people that went missing this year. Same thing?" Shaw didn't answer. He seemed to be in deep thought.

"If we knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it.", Dean said leaning forward. This caught Shaw's attention, looking up he shook his head.

"I seriously doubt that.", Shaw said sadly. "Anyways, I don't see what difference it would make." Shaw plopped down in the recliner and continued. "You wouldn't believe me. Nobody ever did."

"Mr. Shaw, what did you see?", Sam asked. Again, Shaw paused before answering. Shaw winced, as calling back the memories caused him great pain.

"Nothing…", he whispered. "It moved too fast to see. It hid too well. I heard it, though. A roar. Like no man or animal I ever heard." Shaw shook the horrible memories out of his head.

"It came at night?", Sam clarified, receiving a nod from Shaw. "Got inside your tent?"

"It got inside our _cabin_.", Shaw emphasized. "I was sleeping in front of the fireplace when it came in. It didn't smash a window or break the door. It unlocked it. Do you know of a bear that could ever do something like that? I didn't even wake up till I heard my parents screaming."

"It killed them?", Sam asked.

"Dragged them off into the night.", Shaw said shaking his head. "Why it left me alive… I've been asking myself that ever since… It did leave me this, though." Shaw's hand traveled to his shirt collar and pulled it down. My jaw dropped and eyebrows raised at the sight. Shaw had three long claw marks travelling down his left collar bone. It sent shivers up my spine… What are we dealing with, exactly? Maybe a succubus? Nah, story doesn't match up for that. "There's something evil in those woods. It was some sort of demon.", Shaw finished, bowing his head.

"Mr. Shaw?", I asked leaning forward. "Even after what you have been through… Why do you choose to live in solitude in the woods? If it were me, I would have gotten as far away from here as possible." Shaw gave me a smile.

"Son, I've already been through hell. I don't think there is anything else out there that could scare me as much as that thing did.", he answered. "I was raised in these woods. Even after something like that happened, it didn't feel right to up and leave 'em." Wasn't a bad answer I suppose. My ass would have hit the border immediately. Thanking Mr. Shaw, we made our leave. The leads he had given us left us with much to think about… As well as much to prepare for.

* * *

Back in the hotel, I shoved everything I would need tomorrow into my backpack. Camera? Check. Water? Check. Candy? Double check. Dean bought me a one and a half pound bag of sour patch kids from the store. I was in absolute bliss. Dean had already passed out in the bed next to me. Sam was currently in the shower. So for a few moments I had the room to myself, more or less. Despite the stressful day tomorrow, Dean's chest rises and falls with his rest. Gotta give props to the guy, he can sleep through anything with little regard to the circumstances. The three of us had deduced that whatever was stalking about BlackWater wasn't a spirit or demon. It had to be something more concrete… Something that couldn't just phase through walls or disapparate. Whatever it was, we would have to wait until tomorrow. Sam on the other hand, he was ready to go tonight. For some reason he was ready to fuck all and go out and kill the son of a bitch tonight. Rather than think strategically, he would rather go in guns blazing. It was very out of character… Very uncaring. He saw Haley and her brothers more as a hindrance, instead of people in need of help.

I twisted my body to the shower when Sam kicked the door open, towel wrapped around his waist. He padded into the main room and fell back onto the couch. Looking up at me, he must have seen the concern on my face.

"What's wrong?", he asked. Scooting to the end of the bed, I sat toe to toe with him. Sam had always been more willing to let me in.

"No… I'm supposed to ask that, Sam.", I said sternly. "You're ready to just blast through everything without a second thought. Does this have to do with Dad or… Jess…?" Sam winced at the mention of his girlfriend. Sam looked at me for a long time before speaking.

"Do you want me to sleep on the couch tonight?", he said, avoiding the subject. My shoulders slumped at the response. So much for letting me in. I pressed on.

"You used to talk to me about everything.", I spoke. Dean, fortunately, continued to snooze beside us. "I thought me and you were the only people in our family we considered to have any sanity. What's wro-"

"Do you want me to sleep on the couch or not.", Sam snapped. I was taken aback. What the hell?

"Sleep outside for all I care, jackass.", I retorted. In a huff, I crawled back into bed and hit the lights. The last thing I saw before the room went dark was Sam staring at me blankly. Asshole.

* * *

That morning we stopped by the ranger station to sign the consents to camp a few days in BlackWater Ridge. We didn't exactly need them while at BlackWater, but more so the rangers would open the gate to let us in. It would be easier than breaking in, work smarter not harder. I had immediately grabbed shotgun when we got into the car. Sam wasn't going to fight me on it, he knew I was still pissed at him from last night.

It took us about thirty minutes to get to BlackWater, as well as through the gates into it. When we pulled in, Haley was already there. Along with her younger brother and an older man. The trio had hiking boots, shorts, and backpacks chock full of supplies. The older guy was inspecting a shotgun, only halting to glance at our arrival. Well hell, we definitely did not fit the part of rangers. We were in pants and jackets, a few sore thumbs. We crawled out of the car, only for Dean to announce his presence.

"You guys got room for three more?", he yelled with a smirk. Haley rolled her eyes and gave us a condescending look.

"Wait.", she sneered. " _You_ want to come with us?" I trotted my way around the group, the older man kept his eyes on me the entire time. He didn't seem pleased with my being here. I shot him a wink for good measure. He scoffed and turned to Haley.

"Who are _these_ guys?", he asked Haley, peeling his eyes at me. I don't know what this guy's damage is towards me, but shit!

"Apparently this is all the park service could muster up for the search and rescue.", Haley said sarcastically. The older man shifted on his feet in annoyance.

" _You're_ rangers?", he asked. He looked between the three of us before shaking his head.

"You know it. I'm Riley, and this is Dean and Sam.", I introduced. "Who are you?" This guy did not want any part in speaking to me.

"Name's Roy.", he said… And didn't add anymore information. Last name, profession, nada.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Roy.", I said with a bow.

" _Just_ Roy.", he hissed. This is fun. This guy had a lot of buttons to push, and I liked to push buttons.

"So 'rangers', you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?", Haley asked. She made a good point. Dean glanced down at his clothes and laughed. He continued past the group to begin walking down the trail.

"Well, sweetheart, I don't do shorts.", Dean responded with a smile. This comment, of course, caught Roy's attention.

"What, you think this is funny?", Roy asked angrily. "It's dangerous backcountry out there. Her brother might be hurt." Turning his head, Dean spoke.

"Believe me.", he said. "I know how dangerous it can be. We just wanna help them find their brother, that's all." Dean continued moving past Sam and I towards the trail. Shrugging at Roy, I turned to follow my brothers… This will be an interesting hike, that's for sure.

* * *

Within the first five minutes of the hike, Roy took it upon himself to take the lead. I made sure to follow closely behind. I probably asked him every animal question in the book. Granted, he took it in stride and answered… Correctly, I assume. At one point he turned on me and asked what kind of ranger I was. To which I replied a 'ranger in training'. This answer only pissed him off even more. It was a fun game between Roy and I.

"So Mr. Roy, you said you did a little hunting?", I asked, skipping ahead to walk next to him. This earned me a sigh from Roy.

"Yeah, more than a little.", he answered simply.

"Well… What kind of animals do you hunt?", I prodded.

"Mostly buck, sometimes bear.", he responded. I picked up the pace to pass Roy.

"Has Bambi or Yogi ever tried to hunt you back?", I teased. The next thing I knew, Roy grabbed me by the collar and roughly pulled me over to his side. I quickly grabbed his forearm and attempted to pull him off me. I could feel my heart bruising my ribs while Roy glared deep into my eyes. In an instance, Dean had his hand on Roy's shoulder.

"Whatcha doing, Roy?", Dean calmly asked. Roy scoffed, releasing me. I made no haste in stepping behind Dean. This guy is _Crazy_. Leaning over, Roy grabbed a large stick. He pointed it in front of where I had been walking. Following the stick, my eyes landed on an armed bear trap. Holy shit, that would have been a whole leg down the drain. Rearing back, Roy jabbed the bear trap, activating it. The trapped slammed it's jaws together, effectively crushing the stick to pieces.

"You should watch where you're stepping, junior ranger.", he mocked. Glaring at him, I gave him a nod. I suppose I had that coming for antagonizing him. Dropping what was left of the stick, Roy turned to continue his lead.

"It's a bear trap", Dean stated the obvious. I rolled my eyes and continued. Behind me, Haley caught up to speak with Dean. She didn't look happy at all. I paused a moment, eying Dean to see if he wanted back up. Dean gave me an expression that basically said 'keep moving.' I guess that means he is going to let her in on _some_ of the details. Speeding ahead, I could barely overhear Haley bitch at Dean about the fact that we 'didn't pack any provisions.' I tried my best to stay within earshot, however the crunch of leaves being stomped on drowned out most of their conversation. Of the few words I was able to make out of their conversation involved our father, confirming my suspicion. After a few minutes, Dean calling out my name caused me to turn around.

"Riley!", He called. "Hand me the provisions." That was my que. Unzipping my backpack, I grabbed the bag of sour patch kids and opened it for Dean. He took a handful of them and continued his hike. Zipping back the contents, I threw my backpack over my shoulder and followed suit. Perhaps I can find other ways to bother _Mr._ Roy.

* * *

The rest of the day drug by slowly. It was about six in the afternoon, daylight was beginning to run out.

"This is it. BlackWater Ridge.", Roy announced. The weight of the forest was crushing. I took a seat on a nearby log and listened… Nothing.

"What coordinates are we at?", Sam asked. Roy pulled his GPS from his pocket and read the coordinates aloud.

"Thirty-five and minus one-eleven.", he answered. Well here we are. Dean pulled Sam over to the log and knelt beside me.

"You hear that?", he asked. It was hard not to hear. The silence was deafening.

"Yeah.", Sam whispered. "Not even crickets."

"I'm gonna go take a look around.", Roy said after a few moments. Shit, he was going to get himself killed. We _still_ don't have a clue about what we are dealing with. Running off alone could mean certain death.

"Mr. Roy, you shouldn't go off by yourself.", I advised. He snorted at me.

"Kid, don't worry about me. You're probably worse off than anyone else here.", he snapped. Wow, that was harsh. Giving his shotgun a shake, Roy turned and continued along the trail. I hadn't moved yet. I know I'm not as athletic as my brothers, but I've never considered myself a hindrance. A pat on the shoulder and push forward by Dean got my ass in gear.

"Alright, everybody stays together. Let's go.", he commanded. The further we pushed forward, the more at unease everyone got.

A good thirty minutes, we had arrived at a large rock. Roy had pushed on ahead out of view. At this point finding Tommy wasn't looking so hot. However, the morale of Ben and Haley shined through, despite the odds. I don't blame them, if my brothers went missing, I would be determined too. A call brought me from my thoughts.

"Haley! Over here!", Roy screamed. Everyone broke out into a sprint through the forest. Limbs smacked my face as we dodged through the trail, chasing after Roy's voice. Eventually, the trail broke into an opening containing a campsite. I could feel my heart drop into the pit of my stomach when we cleared into the campsite.

"Oh my god…", Haley murmured, her hand covering her mouth. The campsite was absolutely destroyed. The tent had been torn open and the supplies were strewn out about the campsite. Spatters of blood were all over the tent. It looked like a crime scene.

"Looks like a grizzly.", Roy said. What an ass. Everyone dropped their backpacks and began investigating the ruined campsite. The tent was bloody ribbons, nothing left. Haley abruptly stormed off the campsite and began calling for her brother.

"Tommy!", she called. Sam was hot on her heels and followed her into the thicket. Dean glanced back at me.

"Go get them.", I commanded. "I'll watch Ben and Roy." With a nod, Dean turned and jogged after Sam and Haley. A scoff sounded off behind me causing me to whirl around.

"I think it's more of me watching after you, twinkle toes.", Roy sneered. "Maybe you should sit down before you get hurt." What the fuck. Again with this shit?

"Do you have a problem with me Roy?", I asked. He seemed relieved that I finally didn't call him 'Mr.' "I know I've annoyed you a bit, but you've been an absolute prick to me."

"That's because I don't think you belong out here.", he stated bluntly. "Them other two, they seem to be built for this kinda thing… I wouldn't call them rangers… But they can handle this. You. You're gonna get yourself killed, or someone else. You seem to be the oddball with them other two."

"You don't know me.", I hissed. "Is that why you've been such a dick to me? Cause I guarantee I can handle myself just fine with the shit I've been through." He openly laughed at me. I didn't bother to respond, stomping over to the other side of the campsite I continued my search. Hell, even people that don't know my family notice how badly I stand out. After a few awkward filled minutes, Sam, Dean, and Haley returned to the campsite. I simply continued my search off to the side. Eventually, Sam approached me. I didn't pay him any mind.

"Hey.", he whispered. He was treading lightly after our small spat last night. "You alright? You've been pretty quiet since we got back. Roy didn't say any shit to you, did he? I'll talk to him if you need me to." I couldn't help the audible groan that escaped my mouth.

"Sam, I don't need you or Dean fighting my battles.", I said agitated. Sam raised his eyebrows.

"So something did happen.", he concluded. Damn it, Sam.

"Sam.", I began. "Don't worry about me… I have it handled. You know my mouth is too big to let someone walk all over me." I gave him a smile that seemed to tide him over.

"Don't I know that.", he laughed. After a moment, he spoke again. "About last night… I've bee-" Suddenly a scream echoed through the campsite, effectively ruining our moment.

"Help! Help!", the voice screamed. It sounded scared and in pain… And somewhat… forged. Roy sped off into the forest, waving his shotgun around like it was his dick. Grabbing my backpack, I slung it over my shoulder and moved as fast as I could. The voice continued to call for help. "Help! Somebody!" Eventually we got to where we believed the voice was coming from… And found nothing. I felt at unease, like we had been duped.

"It seemed like it was coming from around here, didn't it?", Haley asked. Everyone looked around skeptical… No more yelling… Nothing was here.

"Everyone back to camp!", Sam commanded. Obeying, we turned tail and sprinted back to camp. The ruffage pulled at my pant legs, I couldn't help but feel that this thing was herding us like sheep. Arriving back to the campsite, the first thing we realized was everyone's bags had been stolen.

"Our packs!", Haley yelled. They were nowhere to be found. Fortunately for me, mine was still slung over my shoulder… My precious camera was safe. Sitting on a log, Roy sighed.

"So much for my GPS and my satellite phone.", he complained. Ben and Haley shifted anxiously. Damn, three people to protect is a hell of a handicap.

"It's smart. It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help.", Sam growled. What the hell is _it_. Surely by now Sam has some sort of idea.

"You mean _someone…_ ", Roy sneered. "Some nut job out there just stole all of our gear." Sam ignored him and stomped over to me and Dean.

"We need to speak…", he hissed. "In _private._ " Pulling ourselves a ways from the campsite Sam demanded for Dean to hand over Dad's journal. Flipping through the journal, Sam jabbed a finger on the page and turned it for us to see. "Alright, check this out." I knew Sam had an idea of what we were up against. Sam had the page turned to a demonic stick figure drawing, it was labeled, 'wendigo'. Surrounding the drawing was more information, locations, weaknesses, methods of killing, etc… Briefly reading through the opened journal, Dean spoke up.

"Come on, Sam. Wendigos are in the Minnesota woods or northern Michigan.", Dean countered. "I've never even heard of one this far west."

"Well…", I spoke. "He has a point. Look at the facts. The claw marks, how it can mimic human voices. Hell, they are known for living in mines, and BlackWater is _full_ of them." I threw up my arms to emphasize my statement.

"Great.", Dean sighed, pulling out his pistol. "Well then this is useless." Unfortunately he was right. The only known weakness of wendigos is fire." Sam shoved the journal back into Dean's arms and stomped past him back towards the camp.

"We gotta get these people back to safety.", Sam growled at us before marching into the camp. Marching into camp, Sam barked a command at the group. "Alright, listen up! It's time to go. Things have gotten… More complicated." God, he was being such a damn hothead. I'm sure Roy would take receiving orders from Sam well.

"What!?", Haley snapped. This girl wasn't leaving these woods without a body, that's for sure. Stepping forward, Roy spoke while shaking his head.

"Don't worry.", Roy huffed. Whatever's out there, I think I can handle it." What a cocky son of a bitch.

"It's not me I'm worried about. If you shoot this thing, you're just gonna piss it off. We have to leave. Now.", Sam demanded. Yep, Roy didn't handle taking orders well, like I predicted. Emotions were on the verge on running high, especially with two dominating personalities trying to take control of the situation.

"One, you're talking nonsense.", Roy began. "Two, you're in no place to give anybody orders." The two were edging closer to each other. Dean noticed as well. Stepping in between them he spoke up.

"Relax.", he commanded. The two continued looking at each other, brushing him aside. I had no idea what to do.

"We never should have let you come out here in the first placed, alright?", Sam argued. "I'm trying to protect you!" Roy quickly stepped around Dean and got into Sam's face.

"Would you back hell up, Roy.", I demanded. He was only escalating the situation. Damn I would expect this out of Dean. Our group won't be able to hold itself together if Dean _and_ Sam start diving head first into situations.

"Shut the fuck up, kid!", Roy roared at me. I was taken aback, from the look on Dean's face he was as well. I suppose we still aren't friends, Roy and I. Roy turned his focus back to Sam. "You protect me? I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you good night."

"Yeah?", Sam retorted. His face was contorted in anger. "It's a damn near perfect hunter. It's smarter than you, and it's gonna hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid sorry ass out of here." Roy openly laughed in his face.

"You know you're crazy, right?", Roy laughed. Sam closed the distance between them and spoke.

"Yeah?", He growled. "You ever hunt a wen-" My heart dropped, before Dean interrupted. Closing the gap, Dean shoved Sam to the side.

"Chill out!", he hissed at Sam. Looking from me to Dean, Sam shook his head.

"Stop. Stop it.", Haley commanded, clearly having enough of the squabble. "Everybody just stop. Look. Tommy might still be alive. And I'm not leaving here without him." Just as I expected, she wasn't going anywhere. I am starting to like this girl more and more. She is kinda like Dean, honestly. There was a long awkward moment, before anyone spoke up.

"It's getting late.", Dean said, of course. "This thing is a good hunter in the day, but an unbelievable hunter at night. We'll never beat it, not in the dark. We need to settle in and protect ourselves."

"How?", Haley asked. That earned a smirk from Dean. He's going to start on his Anasazi bullshit. Regardless, hopefully this works. I do not want to be stuck in the woods at night, especially with a wendigo hunting us.

* * *

We utilized the ruined campground and fortified it into our own piece of salvation. More or less. Roy had built a campfire, while Dean continued to draw Anasazi symbols around the campsite. I had made my way next to Sam and found a comfortable piece of dirt to lay back on. Looking over to Sam, he was looking in every direction but me. Maybe he was ashamed of his most recent outburst and didn't want to talk about it? A voice from the campfire caused me to turn my attention to it.

"One more time, that's…", Haley began. Dean had attempted to explain everything multiple times, however it seemed to be going over Ben and Haley's heads. Roy just plain didn't want to hear any of it. It was 'bullshit' if I remember correctly.

"Anasazi symbols.", Dean answered. "It's for protection. The wendigo can't cross over them." Roy's chuckling echoed through the campsite. Dean didn't put up with it. "Nobody likes a skeptic, Roy." Standing up, Dean made his way over to the edge of the campsite where Sam and I sat. "You wanna tell me what's going on in that freaky head of yours?", Dean asked, addressing Sam.

"Dean…", Sam began. He was quickly interrupted by Dean.

"No, your not fine.", Dean snapped, predicting what Sam would say. "You're like a powder keg, it's not like you. I'm supposed to be the belligerent one, remember?" Dean stole the words right out of my mouth.

"Well?", I asked. We had Sam cornered, might as well take advantage of it. There was a long pause before Sam spoke. He simply ignored our questions.

"Dad's not here.", Sam sighed. "I mean, that much we know for sure, right? He would have left us a message, a sign, right?" Sam seemed to have forgotten the amount of secrets Dad kept from us. Whether it be due to 'he's our father', or that 'we don't need to know until we are older.'

"I suppose he's not.", I agreed. "By now we would have found _something_." Turning to Dean, I looked to see if he had any ideas about Dad.

"Hell, I don't think Dad's ever been to Lost Creek.", Dean mumbled. Sitting forward, Sam spoke.

"Then let's get these people back to town and let's hit the road. Go find Dad. I mean why are we still even here?", Sam exclaimed.

"It doesn't feel right to leave.", I whispered. "We haven't finished the job. This thing has been killing people for decades. That will continue if we just bail." Dean quickly reached into his coat pocket and whipped out Dad's journal.

"Riley is right.", he said. I couldn't help but smirk. It was nice to get some sort of props from my brother every so often. "This journal is why. This is Dad's single most valuable possession. Everything he knows about every evil thing is in here. And he's passed it on to us. I think he wants us to pick up where he left off. You know, saving people, hunting things. The family business." Dean tapped on the journal to emphasize his statement.

"That makes no sense.", Sam muttered, shaking his head. "Why doesn't he just… call us? Why doesn't he… Tell us what he wants, tell us where he is." Sam looked like he had a mixture of emotions within him - anger, sadness, frustration.

"Come on, Sam", I laughed. "You know that keeping us in the know isn't Dad's forte." Sam gave me a small smile.

"The way I see it, Dad's giving us a job to do. And I intend to do it.", Dean said crossing his arms. Typical dean, always jumping to follow orders… Even if we aren't sure if Dad is giving the orders. Despite that, I understand where he is coming from. Family is family, Dad is missing and we need to find him.

"Dean… No. I gotta find Dad. I gotta find Jessica's killer.", Sam whispered. He was pretty stuck on her… Granted, I can't blame him. "It's the only thing I can think about." I honestly didn't know what to say… For once. Looking over to Dean, I waited for him to speak.

"Okay, alright Sam. We'll find them, I promise. Listen to me.", Dean said. I couldn't help but feel like I had been thrusted out of this conversation. The Sam and Dean duo was making its appearance. Maybe I'm just an attention hog… "You've gotta prepare yourself. I mean, this search could take a while, and all that anger, you can't keep it burning over the long haul. It's gonna kill you. You gotta have patience, man." It was clear from the look on Sam's face that he was beginning to feel more at ease. Hell, he wouldn't even let me talk to him about shit like this, why the hell are those two so much closer? Sam speaking brought me from my internal conundrum.

"How do you two do it? I mean, how does Dad do it?", Sam whispered. I assume he means deal with this shit, while finding the strength to continue on.

"Well for one, them.", Dean said, motioning to Ben and Haley behind him. They sat around the campfire looking tired and worried. Not exactly shocking. Dean spoke again, bringing our attention back to him. "I'll tell you what else helps. Killing as many evil sons of bitches as I possibly can." This earned a smile from Sam. I suppose if their closeness can help Sam feel better, I can overlook my jealousy from time to time. A voice rang out through the forest.

"Help me! Please!", it called. Dean pulled his gun from his coat and made his way into the center of camp. "Help!"

"The wendigo is trying to play us. It wants us to run out into the forest like dumbasses.", I said. Sam waved the flashlight through the forest, however, he was unable to find anything.

"He's right.", Dean agreed. "Everyone just stay put."

"Inside the magic circle?", Roy mocked. God, he was such a pain in the ass.

"Shut up, Roy!", I snapped. "If you want to run out into the dark, feel free." The calls for help seemed to echo all around us. If looks could kill, Roy would have murdered me. Pointing his gun in my general direction he spoke.

"You expect me to buy into this bullshit? Maybe we should both go into the woods and see what is out there.", he hissed. I froze, staring at his gun. Is he crazy?

"Watch where you point that thing, Roy.", Dean called out. He was busy turning in circles to pinpoint the sound. A growl resonating in the woods caused us all to cringe. It was inhuman.

"Okay, that's no grizzly.", Roy murdered to himself. Maybe he was finally grasping the gravity of the situation. Haley rushed over to Ben and cupped his face.

"It's okay.", she said. He looked pretty freaked out. "You'll be alright, I promise." The brush rustling next to the camp caused Haley to scream. Well shit. Rustling behind me caused me to whirl around, I could barely make out a tall thin figure making its way back into the forest. A gunshot sounding off next to me caused me to fall onto my ass. What the hell was that!? A second shot helped me realize that Roy's dumbass was firing his shotgun.

"I hit it!", Roy announced. Without a second glance, Roy disappeared into the woods. My heart sank… He was going to die… Summoning all of my courage, I raced out of the circle. Roy was a real asshole, but no one deserves to be eaten alive by a wendigo. Ducking and weaving through low hanging limbs, I stayed on Roy's tail. I eventually caught up to Roy at a large tree. He was standing at the base looking up into its dark branches. "It's over here! It's in the tree!", he yelled. Roy turned on his heel to see who followed him, scowling when he realized it was me. Before I could do a thing, a dark figure climbed down the tree and quickly twisted Roy's neck. I couldn't stop the scream that came from my mouth. Before his corpse could hit the ground, Roy's body was yanked up into the tree and out of view. Backing up, I could only stare in shock up into the tree. He was gone… Movement behind me brought me from my search. My brothers had arrived behind me. Sam looked in all directions with his flashlight.

"Roy!", Dean called into the tree. I silently shook my head.

"He's gone.", I whispered.

"Fuck!", Dean hissed. "Come on, let's get back to the others." With that simple command, once again we were making our way back to the campsite within the protective circle. I didn't dare turn to look behind me in fear of the wendigo chasing behind me. Our crashing through the forest camouflaged any noise the monster might make while in chase of us. Breaking into the clearing of the campsite, we found Ben and Haley huddled together in wait. The looks of fear was all too familiar when it came to the average-joes dealing with the Supernatural. _What if they don't make it out alive…_ I quickly shook the thought from my head. I had to trust in my brothers… And myself.

* * *

The better part of the night was spent tossing and turning at every noise that sounded off outside of the circle. At some point however, I was able to pass out. A ray of sunshine breaking through the thick forestry made its way to my face, effectively drawing me from my sleep. Sitting up, I examined my surroundings. Fortunately, everyone was in camp, this brushed away my fear of the wendigo possibly stealing someone away in the night. Ben was sound asleep on the ground next to one of the torn tents. Haley and Dean were whispering quietly to each other next to him. I'm sure she still had many questions about the problem at hand. Last night, we found it in our best interest to fully explain everything that was going on. Including the wendigo and how it lead to Roy's death. A voice behind me caused me to turn my torso.

"Sleep well?", Sam asked. Sam sat with his back against a tree stump, in his hands was Dad's journal.

"No.", I answered, cringing at the crick in my back. Hell, sleeping on the dirt is the worst. I'm never going to bitch about hotels again. I crawled to the tree stump and laid back against it with Sam. "What are we going to do now? How are we going to save these people?", I asked.

"We'll figure it out.", Sam sighed. "It's our job, right?" I couldn't help but smile at his change in attitude. Sure it was a half-assed one. But it showed me his head was getting back into the game. Quickly, Sam rocked himself into a standing position and began to make his way over to Dean and Haley. Not wanting to miss out on the game plan, I crawled after him.

"Hey.", he called, catching their attention. "So, we've got half a chance of in the daylight. And I for one want to kill this evil son of a bitch." Dean's pep talk to Sam last night sure did give him a kick in the ass.

"Well, hell, you know I'm in.", Dean laughed. Flipping open Dad's journal, Sam showed us the page studying the wendigo. Sam wasted no time in beginning his history lesson, mainly to Haley.

"'Wendigo' is a Cree Indian word. It means 'evil that devours'", Sam explained, quoting from Dad's journal. Dean jumped in to continue the explanation, no doubt to impress Haley.

"They're hundreds of years old. Each one was once a man. Sometimes an Indian, or other times a frontiersman, or a miner, or hunter.", Dean said. Poor Haley looked like her mind had been blown wide open.

"How does someone turn into one of those things?", Haley asked. Good question.

"Well.", I began. Dean didn't look happy that I was butting in. "The story never changes. Said Indian, frontiersman, miner, or hunter, finds himself in a tough spot some winter. Either cut off from supplies, or a bad crop haul from earlier months. In the end he becomes a cannibal to survive, eating other members of his tribe or camp."

"Like the Donner Party.", a sleepy voice came from behind us. Ben had finally stirred and tuned into our conversation. Sam continued his lesson.

"Cultures from all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities. Speed, strength, immortality.", he continued. "If you eat enough of it, over years, you become this less than human thing. You're always hungry."

"So if that's true, how can tommy still be alive?", Haley suddenly asked. The fire in her eyes showed that she was not going to take an excuse for an answer.

"You're not going to like it.", Dean muttered. He looked from Sam to me. No way in hell was I going to tell her. It was _his_ girlfriend, not mine. Sensing our dismay, Haley demanded an answer.

"Tell me.", she said sternly. Shaking his head, Dean fessed up.

"More than anything, a wendigo knows how to last long winters without food.", he started. "It hibernates for years at a time, but when it's awake it keeps it's victims alive. It stores them, so it can feed whenever it wants. If your brother's alive, it's keeping him somewhere dark, hidden, and safe. We gotta track it back there."

"Honestly, it probably comes out of hibernation once every twenty or so years. The fact your brother was around when it came out is pretty crummy luck.", I stated bluntly. Dean smacked the back of my head in repercussion. I forget to think before I speak sometimes. Haley simply blew off my comment and continued.

"And how do we stop it?", she asked.

"Well, guns are useless, so are knives.", Dean said. Holding up a can of lighter fluid, a beer bottle, and a white cloth he had found in the ruined camp, he quickly fashioned it into a makeshift Molotov cocktail. "We gotta torch the sucker.", he finished with a sneer.

* * *

Our trek through the woods wasn't exactly a difficult one, at least when it came to finding traces of where the wendigo had gone off to. The wendigo had left many of the trees with bloody claw marks. We simply had to follow the trail and we would find us a wendigo. Maybe it was marking its territory? Hell no. This was much too obvious. It _wanted_ us to find it.

After walking a mile or so through the forest an audible growl was heard within the forest. We quickly formed a circle facing all directions, and laid in wait. Where is it? A scream from behind me caused me to whirl around. Haley barreled into me taking us both to the ground. Pulling ourselves together, I was eventually able to glance over to the tree which she had been standing under. At the base of the tree laid Roy's corpse. I suppose the wendigo dropped it from the tree as a message. Carefully, Dean slid over to Roy and took a look at him.

"His neck is broke.", Dean deduced. The thought sent shivers down my spine. Starting at the base of the tree, I brought my gaze up the trunk and into the many branches. They swung menacingly in the breeze. Another deep growl brought me from my search. "Okay, run, run, run, go, go!", Dean demanded. Without a second thought, I grabbed Haley's hand and we sped off. Once again, the wendigo was herding us through the forest. Taking a glance behind us, Ben had fallen, with my brothers lagging behind us to pick him up. Rounding a large tree, Haley and I stopped short. In front of us in all his flesh stood the wendigo. He had patches of long strands of white hair coming from the top of his head. His skin was like leather. I could feel his red eyes piercing through me. My legs felt like jelly simply standing in front of him. He actually looked like Gollum, from that Lord of the Rings movie. Damn. Of all times not to have my camera in my hand. Shoving Haley back, I took my backpack off and swung it at the monster. It landed a solid hit, but it didn't even phase him. Haley screeched from behind me as the monster stood tall over me. My heart sunk. This was it. I was going to die. A simple back hand from it rendered me to the ground with everything going black.

* * *

Dirt and leaves scratching up my back brought me back from the darkness. What the hell happened? I could feel something had a tight cold grip on my ankle and was dragging me through the forest. Unfortunately, my blurred vision prevented me from investigating any further. After a minute of shaking my head and blinking multiple times, my breath hitched when I remembered the past events. The wendigo had me by my ankle and an unconscious Haley over its shoulders. God, I need to think fast. What would my brothers do!? The wendigo had yet to notice my regain of consciousness, so I had that in my favor. The wendigo seemed to think he was safe, so he wasn't making any hesitation in moving through the forest quietly. Sliding my hand into my bag dragging behind me, I found the sour patch kids Dean had given me. One by one I began throwing them behind me. A little Hansel and Gretel action should get my brothers on our trail.

After a while, we came to one of the abandoned mines in the forest. I suppose this is where the wendigo had made his home. Entering the mines caused a drastic change in landscape. Going from soft grass and leaves to dirt and rocks was hell on my back. It took every fiber in my being not to groan. After twenty minutes or so of dragging, I felt I was at my breaking point. The cuts on my back were so deep it was unreal. Fortunately for me, the wendigo had arrived at his holding area. Feigning unconsciousness, I let the wendigo tie my wrists and hoist me into the air. My eyes were closed, but I could sense the wendigo was in my face… And I could smell it. After a while, footsteps leaving the room… And then nothing. It was safe to open my eyes again. It took a minute for them to adjust, but Haley and I were found to be in an empty dungeon within the mines, hung from the rafters.

I attempted to escape for thirty minutes before giving up. There was no way out… It's either my brothers save me at this point, or I get eaten. Swinging back and forth caused me to just spin in circles like an idiot. So it's probably better to just wait.

Eventually footsteps echoed through the mines. The wendigo must be coming back… Tightly closing my eyes, I waited for the inevitable. Two seconds… Five seconds… Ten seconds… Where is it. Cold hands grabbing my face caused my eyes to pop open.

"Riley!", the voice said. It was Sam's voice. "Are you okay?"

"Definitely.", I coughed. "Just help me down from here." Cutting the ropes, I fell onto my ass. Well, I guess I can't complain since they found me. Meanwhile, Dean and Ben had cut Haley down, bringing her to. Kneeling over to me, Dean whispers.

"Pretty badass with the candy trick.", he said. Couldn't help the bubble of pride that erupted through my body. Dean doesn't usually give _me_ compliments. "So where is he?", Dean asked.

"He's gone… For now. But he could be back at any moment.", I answered. Glancing back at Haley, she was staring off at one of the other corpses hanging in the room.

"Tommy…", she whispered. Oh no. Stepping forward she reached up to cup his cheek. The second she touched his face, Tom moaned and jerked his head up. This caused all of us to jump back. "Cut him down!", Haley demanded to Sam. Sam quickly obeyed, assisting him to the ground and into a sitting position. Wrapping him tightly in her arms, Haley whispered words of comfort to Tom. "We're gonna get you home."

"Check this out.", Dean called from the corner. Apparently the wendigo stored everything he stole in this room. Dean had a couple flare guns in his hands.

"Flare guns.", Sam confirmed. "Those will work." Dean laughed and twirled the guns in a wild west fashion.

"I'm tired. My back is killing me. And I need a bath. Can we get the fuck out of here?", I groaned. Throwing my bag over my shoulder I lead the group through the mines. Not that I had any idea where I was going. Pulling my camera from my bag, I set the flash and held it for the ready. I was going to get this picture one way or another. Trekking through the mines, a growling began to echo through the mines. I guess he realized dinner escaped.

"Looks like someone's home for supper.", Dean stated, effectively stealing my thunder for that joke. Asshole.

"We'll never outrun it.", Haley said. What an optimist. This caused Dean to stop in his tracks, causing us to pause as well. Glancing back at Sam he nodded his head and spoke.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?", Dean asked. What is he thinking?

"Yeah, I think so?", Sam responded. What the _hell_? What's going on?

"What is he thinking? Damn." I complained. As usual they leave me out of _everything_.

"What are you gonna do?", Haley asked. This earned a wink from Dean, as he started walking in the opposite direction of us.

"Chow time, you freaky bastard!", Dean called. His voice carried all through the mines. "Yeah that's right, bring it on, baby, I taste _good_!" Oh. I guess that's what he was thinking. The second Dean turned a corner out of sight, Sam began ushering the four of us along.

"Alright, come on! Hurry!", Sam urged. We continued to follow Sam through the narrow tunnel. No idea where we were. Dean muffled voice was still audible within the mines. After a few minutes of speeding through the mines we came to an intersection where we were met with a growl. Sam pointed his flare gun at the growl, but there was nothing in view. "Get him outta here", Sam commanded to the siblings. Obeying, they turning the corner and continued on. Sam continued to point his flare gun down one of the tunnels. Nothing.

"I don't see it, Sam.", I whispered. I held my camera to my eye. Sure I want to live… But I also want this shot. A growl to our side caused us to turn in unison. There stood the wendigo, right in our faces. Seizing opportunity, I took the shot. The cavern lit up in a bright flash and the monster screeched and ran… Causing Sam to miss his shot with the flare gun… Of course.

"Damn it Riley, what the hell are you thinking.", Sam growled. Oops. Turning on our heels, we continued after the siblings. "Seriously, Riley."

"Sorry Sam, I saw a shot and had to take it.", I said with a laugh. Can't live the lives we live without partaking in guilty pleasures. Catching up to the siblings we continued on.

"Come on, hurry, hurry, hurry.", Sam ordered. Poor Tom limped as fast as he could. Eventually we came to a dead end. "Get behind me.", Sam demanded. He was a pretty wide guy, so we were all able to huddle behind him. The Wendigo took its sweet time in approaching us. It figured it had us in its grasp, so it could have a little fun. Stepping forward I snapped another picture of the beast. The flash caused it to shriek, slowing it down a few steps. Damn, I suppose this is it now.

"Hey", a call came from behind the monster. This caused the wendigo to turn and face the noise. It was Dean, coming to the rescue. Dean had his flare gun pointed at the wendigo. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger and shot the flare into its stomach. The flare erupted and caused the wendigo to go up in flames. "Not bad, huh?", Dean said, with a smirk.

* * *

After making our way out of the mines, we were able to call for help using Roy's satellite phone, which we had found in the wendigo's holding room. We had explained to the Collins siblings the story that we were going to go by. That way no further questions would be asked. The plan was to get our story straight and blame it all on a grizzly. It only took an hour for us to be found by rangers. They brought us back to the forest entrance where we were met by two officers and a few paramedics. Fortunately for us the medics loaded Tom into the ambulance and began treating him immediately by protocol. Ben and Haley relayed the grizzly story off to the officers, which they lapped up like milk. Turning to my brothers and I, Haley spoke.

"So I don't know how to thank you.", she spoke sweetly. Dean gave her a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "Must you cheapen the moment?", she asked with a smile.

"Yeah", Dean answered with a smile. Gotta love him. One of the paramedics came up to us and lightly tapped Haley on the shoulder.

"You riding with your brother?", he asked. Nodding in confirmation, Haley turned to Ben

"Let's go.", she stated. Giving us a nod, Ben climbed into the ambulance with his brother. Stepping forward, Haley wasted no time in giving Dean a kiss on the cheek. "I hope you find your father." And with that final wish she climbed into the ambulance with her brothers and the doors were shut. After the ambulances drove off, Dean announced his thoughts on today's hunt.

"Man, I hate camping.", Dean sighed. I pulled my album out and laid it on the back of the impala. Time to put the wendigo in its perfect spot.

"Me too.", Sam replied. Labeling one of the pockets 'BlackWater Ridge', I then pulled out my camera to see which photo would go in it… Once I get it printed, of course.

"Me three.", I agreed. I flipped between the two pictures I had. The first one was pretty good. It showed the mines along with the angry expression of the wendigo. The second one had dumbass Dean in the background shielding his eyes from my flash. Effectively ruining the picture. I guess I will go with the first picture. I really need to get a camera that will print them straight away, that way I don't have to run to the nearest Walmart every time I need pictures printed.

"Guys… You know we are going to find Dad, right?", Dean asked. Hell with confidence like that it was hard to not trust in him.

"Yeah, I know.", Sam answered. "But in the meantime? I'm driving.", Sam finished with a grin. Throwing him the keys, Dean made his way to shotgun.

"What the hell, Dean? I ask to drive it's a big ass deal, Sam asks and he gets the keys.", I complained. Naturally, I was ignored. Piling into the back, we set forward to our next destination. Albeit an unknown destination. Hopefully one with much, much, much less trees and more civilization.

* * *

 **A/N - Again, I would like to thank anyone that takes their time to actually read this. I do this in my free time, and I rather enjoy it. If you notice any mistakes be sure to let me know. Otherwise, just don't be a jerk.**


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